Actor-singer Aliff Aziz jailed two weeks and fined for theft and behaving in a disorderly manner

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
September 15, 2020

Actor-singer Mohamad Aliff Aziz was sentenced on Tuesday (Sept 15) to two weeks' jail and a fine of $500 for theft and an unrelated charge of behaving in a disorderly manner in public.

The 29-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to the offences on Aug 7.

This was not his first brush with the law. In 2014, he was fined $2,000 for stealing two mobile phones.

On Tuesday, Principal District Judge Victor Yeo noted that an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist had earlier found that Aliff had an adjustment disorder.

The psychiatrist had, however, stated that it had no bearing on Aliff’s offending behaviour.

Judge Yeo also noted that he was a repeat offender.

On June 7 last year, Aliff met Indonesian actress Raja Yunika Perdhana Putri, 32, in her room at the Studio M hotel in Nanson Road near Havelock Road at around midnight to discuss how she could help further his singing career in her home country.

When she went to rest at the second storey of her room, he opened her handbag and stole $300 and one million rupiah (S$92) in cash.

Noticing that her money was missing after she woke up about two hours later, she phoned Aliff who denied stealing from her. She alerted the police later that day. He has since made full restitution.

Separately, Aliff was found to be intoxicated under the link bridge of Orchard Towers shopping centre at around 5.30am on Nov 10 last year.

A police officer, Sergeant Theodore Lee, 24, who saw Aliff shouting loudly, told him to calm down.

Aliff complied before walking away. But an hour later, he walked towards a nearby taxi and kicked its bumper. No damage was caused.

He also got into a scuffle with an acquaintance later that morning near Orchard Towers and was arrested.

Aliff rose to fame in 2007 after winning Anugerah, the Malay TV channel Suria’s version of Singapore Idol .

On Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Pavithra Ramkumar urged the court to sentence him to two weeks’ jail and a fine, stressing that he is a repeat offender.

Defence lawyer, Senior Counsel Murali Pillai, said his client had sought treatment at various places, including IMH, from 2014 to 2019.

Offenders convicted of theft can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

First-time offenders convicted of behaving in a disorderly manner in public can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.

The Straits Times

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