Woman steals 76-year-old man's $5,000 gold chain after offering him $40 massage at Geylang hotel

A man thought he had gotten a good deal after a woman agreed to give him a massage for $40. 

But the woman ended up getting more value from their agreement after stealing the man's $5,000 gold chain. 

On July 31, the 76-year-old victim met the 63-year-old woman named Chen Ronghua, who hails from Hong Kong, for lunch at Geylang at around 1pm, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

During this, Chen agreed to give the man a massage, and the two booked a hotel at Lorong 20 Geylang. 

In the room, the elderly man had taken off his gold necklace and put it in his bag as he wanted to take a shower. 

While he was doing so, Chen stole the jewellery, ran back to her residence at Lorong 22 Geylang to take her belongings and headed for Changi Airport as she had intended to return to Hong Kong the next day, according to the Chinese daily. 

She had planned to find a hotel nearby the airport to stay before her flight.

However, she found that she couldn't afford the hotel prices in the area and so had no choice but to return to Geylang.

The elderly man later realised Chen was missing, along with his gold chain, and called the police, Shin Min reported. 

The police found the woman at Lorong 22 Geylang on the same day at 6.40pm and arrested her. 

She claimed she was sick 

Chen claimed that she suffered from cancer. 

Before her trial on Thursday (Aug 15), she told the interpreter that she had finished her medicine and needed to go back to Hong Kong to see a doctor or she "will die", reported Shin Min. 

Chen was eventually fined $5,000, but if she is unable to come up with the money, she will be sentenced to two weeks in prison. 

According to the Chinese daily, Chen's sister, who was present in the courtroom, "bargained" with the judge after hearing the verdict. 

A report from CNA said that she had also kept asking Chen to "plead guilty" even after being shushed by auxiliary police officers. 

Eventually, Chen accepted the statement. 

According to Penal Code 1871, the penalty for theft is a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com