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2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery

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The 2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery was a bank robbery took place in Singapore on 7 July 2016. Bank robberies are rare in Singapore, with the last successful robbery occurring in 2004.[1] A total of S$30,045 was robbed, and the perpetrator, David James Roach fled Singapore on the same day to Bangkok, Thailand. Roach was subsequently jailed in Thailand on money laundering charges, before being deported back to Canada in 2018. During the deportation process, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport, London and was then extradited to Singapore in 2020 for bank robbery and removing criminal proceeds from Singapore. Roach was sentenced to 5 years' of jail and 6 strokes of cane on 7 July 2021.

Perpetrator

Australian-born Canadian citizen David James Roach was backpacking since 2015 before arriving in Singapore on 29 June 2016.[2][3] He was 26 of age then.[4] Roach had studied engineering in Calgary.[3]

Robbery

Planning phase

After arriving in Singapore, Roach planned to rob a bank in the country. He made several reconnaissance trips to the targeted bank, a Standard Chartered bank branch located at Holland Village, Singapore, casing the bank and its surrounding environment. He had also bought new clothes, among them a sweater, to be use during the robbery, and disposed of immediately thereafter. The day before he committed the robbery, Roach stayed in three different hostels in Chinatown, Singapore.[5]

Robbery

On the morning of 7 July 2016, Roach entered the bank. He approached a pregnant bank teller with a note which read, "This is a robbery, I have a weapon, give me money, don't call the police."[6] Believing that he had a weapon, Roach received S$ 30,450 from the teller and fled the scene on foot. The police, upon receiving an alert from the panic button in the bank, combed the area for a Caucasian suspect, but he was nowhere to be found.[7]

Escape

Roach changed out from the clothes upon exiting from the bank, and boarded a taxi several minutes later. The taxi brought him back to his hostel where he collected his personal belongings and left for Changi Airport. He bought an AirAsia flight ticket to Bangkok and left Singapore at 2.40pm on the same day.[5]

Aftermath

Caught and jailed in Thailand

Roach was caught on 9 July 2016 in his hostel in Bangkok, after Singapore authorities had alerted their Thai counterparts.[8] As Singapore had issued a warrant of arrest for Roach, Thailand had cancelled his rights to stay in the country, and was detained for seven days in an immigration detention centre.[3] The Singapore authorities had requested to Thailand to have Roach repatriated back to Singapore, however the request fell through as Singapore and Thailand had no treaty to allow such extraditions.[6] At the same time, Canadian authorities wanted to extradite Roach back to Canada, given that Thailand and Canada have an existing extradition treaty.[3] Instead, the Thai authorities decided to charge and sentence Roach for violating currency regulations and money laundering. Travellers to Thailand had to declare to customs if they possessed more than US$ 20,000 in assets. Roach was initially sentenced to 2 years and 4 months of jail, but it was halved to 14 months after confessing to the money laundering charges. The money, S$30,450 (2016) (US$22,041.26), was seized by Thailand as well.[6]

Extradition from United Kingdom

Upon release from Thai prison, Roach was deported back to Canada and was placed on a multi-legged flight. While on a stopover at Heathrow Airport, London, he was arrested by British authorities on 11 January 2018 as Singapore had an active arrest warrant on him.[9] Singapore requested for him to be extradited, which Roach challenged. A UK judge ruled that the extradition request could be fulfilled under United Kingdom (UK) laws on 29 August 2018.[10] This came after Singapore gave assurance that Roach would not be caned if sentenced in Singapore.[11] In October 2018, a UK Secretary of State[who?] approved the extradition.[12] Roach further appealed against the judgement,[13] but failed to secured a favourable outcome in February 2020.[14] Roach was extradited to Singapore on 16 March 2020, and was remanded since.[12]

Charged and sentenced

On 17 March 2020, Roach was charged with a charge of robbing a bank and a charge of removing criminal proceeds out of Singapore.[15] On 7 July 2021, he was sentenced to five years' jail and six strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to the two charges. The jail time was backdated to when he was first remanded.[5] Singapore's Attorney-General office and Ministry of Home Affairs are currently working through procedures to fulfil the assurance of not to cane Roach that was given to UK.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "A look back at past bank robberies, a rarity in Singapore". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  2. ^ hermes (2016-07-13). "StanChart robbery: Suspect gave himself up when cornered". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  3. ^ a b c d hermes (2016-07-17). "Friends, family of StanChart robbery suspect express shock". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. ^ hermesauto (2016-07-13). "Mother of StanChart robbery suspect David James Roach shocked at son's arrest". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  5. ^ a b c d "StanChart robber David Roach sentenced to jail in Singapore 5 years after high-profile bank heist and escape". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  6. ^ a b c hermesauto (2017-06-06). "Thai court jails StanChart robbery suspect 14 months for money laundering and other charges". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  7. ^ "Manhunt on after robbery at StanChart branch in Holland Village". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  8. ^ Montgomery, Sharon. "River Ryan man gets jail sentence in Thailand | Saltwire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  9. ^ "StanChart robbery suspect David Roach can be extradited to Singapore: UK court". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  10. ^ "StanChart robbery suspect David Roach can be extradited to Singapore: UK court". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  11. ^ "StanChart robbery: Singapore agrees to UK request to not cane suspect if found guilty". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  12. ^ a b "StanChart robbery: Suspect David Roach extradited to Singapore from UK". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  13. ^ Staff, Reuters (2018-08-30). "Court rules UK free to extradite Singapore bank robbery suspect". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-07. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ Montgomery, Sharon. "Cape Breton man to be extradited to Singapore to face charges related to a bank robbery | Saltwire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  15. ^ "StanChart robbery: David Roach charged in Singapore almost 4 years after alleged offences". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
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