Robber lures victim out by using gay dating app Grindr then poses as police officer, sentenced to jail, caning

Two men used Grindr, a gay dating app, to lure their victim out before robbing him of more than $3,000 in cash and valuables.

On Wednesday (Mar 21), one of them, service officer Iskandar Jantan, was sentenced to three years and two months' jail with 12 strokes of the cane.

Iskandar, 43, pleaded guilty on Monday to robbing the 26-year-old man who cannot be named due to a gag order, reports The Straits Times.

Iskandar's accomplice, Chong Ming Kar, 29, received three years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Oct 30 last year.

Iskandar had started chatting with the victim on Grindr on Aug 25, 2016 where he and Chong pretended to be a Caucasian man to lure the victim out.

They planned to rob him while posing as police officers.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Esther Tang said: "Both accused persons thought that this would be effective, as gay persons would generally be afraid of having details about their personal lives exposed."

They duped the man into turning up at a bus stop along Guillemard Road at around 10.40pm that day where they were waiting.

When the victim arrived, Iskandar and Chong cornered him while posing as policemen and asked to check his bag.

"The victim was unsure about whether the accused persons were actually police officers, but nonetheless complied with the accused persons' instructions to move to behind the bus stop, near a construction site," said DPP Tang.

When they were behind the bus stop, Chong pulled at the man's bag and a scuffle ensued when the victim held it close to his body.

Iskandar then stepped in and held the victim in a headlock.

Amidst the scuffle, Chong called 999 and lied to an officer, claiming he was a policeman who needed to screen a so-called uncooperative suspect.

The victim managed to break free and the pair gave chase.

When the man fell down, the duo snatched his $1,000 Prada bag which contained about $2,000 of valuables, including a laptop computer and a wallet.

The victim escaped in a taxi and his cousin later alerted the police at around 11.50pm.

Chong and Iskandar were arrested the following day.

Iskandar was offered bail of $35,000 as he will be serving his sentence at a later date.

He was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on March 29.