A police search at the home of Canabe Warren Vicente, 41, uncovered 122 pairs of shoes which were suspected to have been stolen and for which he could not account for. (Photo: Getty)

SINGAPORE — He was on a jog when he saw shoes left outside residents’ apartments and thought about stealing the footwear and selling them online or bringing them back to his home country.

Inspired by the idea, Canabe Warren Vicente, 41, stole shoes three to four times a week, accumulating a haul of 156 pairs of shoes and slippers.

At the State Courts on Monday (4 November), Vicente, who is from the Philippines, was jailed for 13 months and two weeks.

He pleaded guilty to eight charges of theft involving 13 pairs of shoes, among other stolen items, one count of housebreaking to commit theft and one charge of fraudulent possession of property involving 122 pairs of shoes.

A total of 20 counts of theft involving 21 pairs of footwear, among other stolen items, were considered in sentencing.

The cheapest items Vicente stole were three clothes pegs and a $5 floor mat, while the most expensive item was a computer worth $2,505.

The cheapest footwear he stole was a $30 pair of shoes while the most expensive was a $320 pair of Nike running shoes.

Carried haversack, disguised himself

Vicente was jogging around La Fiesta condominium in Sengkang in July when he saw that many residents left their shoes outside their apartments, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Etsuko Lim.

“He formulated a plan to steal their shoes so that he could sell them for profit, either via Carousell or by bringing them back to the Philippines. The accused thus began stealing shoes about three to four times a week,” the prosecutor added.

Vicente would hide the stolen footwear in a haversack he carried with him. He would also wear sunglasses and a cap to disguise himself. He mainly struck in the day.

On 16 July, Vicente went to a shoe cabinet placed along a common corridor of a HDB block in Compassvale Drive and took three pairs of shoes from the cabinet. The footwear was worth a total of $770: a $300 pair of Timberland boots, a $150 pair of Timberland shoes and a $320 pair of Nike running shoes.

And outside another resident’s home at the same block, Vicente stole two storage boxes worth $30 each, a $5 floor mat and three clothes pegs.

The same day, he also stole a $200 pair of Under Armour shoes left outside a resident’s home at La Fiesta condo.

The next day, Vicente stole a $70 kick scooter at the common corridor of an HDB block in Compassvale Drive.

On 22 July, Vicente also stole two pairs of shoes left outside another victim’s HDB home in Compassvale Lane - a $159 pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes and a $99 pair of Pedro shoes.

Eight days later, Vicente was walking around Compassvale Drive looking for footwear to steal when he walked past an HDB flat and saw a MacBook Pro computer placed on a table next to a sliding window by the common corridor.

Vicente stretched his hand into the open window, pulled the tablecloth beneath the computer which was worth $2,505 and stole it. The culprit then went home, reset the computer to its factory settings and secured it with his own password.

The victim made a police report later the same day and officers tracked down and raided the perpetrator’s home the next morning.

Besides finding some shoes belonging to residents who had made a police report, officers also found 122 pairs of shoes which were suspected to have been stolen. Vicente could not satisfactorily account for these footwear.

Officers also found the stolen MacBook Pro.

The maximum penalty for theft is up to three years’ jail and a fine.

For housebreaking to commit theft, Vicente could have been jailed for up to 10 years.

The maximum punishment for fraudulent possession of property is a fine of up to $3,000 or up to one year in jail.

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