Unemployed and in need of money, he scoured the Internet for an easy target to rob.

Shaun Ow Wei Yang (above) then saw an online forum about a massage parlour in Ang Mo Kio.

Armed with a fruit knife and wearing a face mask, he hit the parlour and held its receptionist at knifepoint before fleeing with $850.

He also tried to rob another beauty parlour at The Adelphi, in Coleman Street, that day.

Yesterday, Ow, 25, was jailed 2½ years and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane for robbery.

The attempted robbery charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

In January, Ow came across Rose Spa at Block 531, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, online.

He bought a fruit knife from a supermarket and face masks from a pharmacy.

On Jan 20, at about 2.30pm, Ow entered the spa wearing a face mask. He pointed the knife at the receptionist, 24-year-old Thai national Virayarutjananon Thitimon.

He demanded that she put all the money from the cash register into a plastic bag.

FEAR

Ms Virayarutjananon handed over $850 out of fear.

Ow fled and she quickly made a police report.

He went to Northpoint Shopping Centre in Yishun, where he deposited $800 into his bank account.

He also tried to rob another beauty parlour hours later.

The New Paper had previously reported that the police arrested Ow within 12 hours of the Rose Spa robbery.

Court papers said Ow’s mother later returned the $850.

Yesterday, Ow’s lawyer Alice Tan said in mitigation that Ow’s father had abandoned his wife and son when he was 11.

Ms Tan added that Ow suffered from an obsessive compulsive disorder that causes him to shower for two to four hours each time and wash his hands up to 50 times a day.

His mother underwent surgery to remove a tumour in her head in April last year, causing Ow to feel helpless at not being able to provide for himself and his mother.

A Rose Spa employee yesterday told TNP that Ms Virayarutjananon had stopped work for a few months.

For committing robbery, Ow faced a jail term of between two and 10 years, and at least six strokes of the cane.

GROUP C

SAN MARINO v GERMANY
(Tomorrow, 3.45am)

Germany take on fellow European powerhouses Italy in Milan next Wednesday morning (Singapore time) in a friendly, their last international of the year, but before the Azzurri, the Germans look destined to clinch three more qualifying points against tiny San Marino.

The landlocked mountainous microstate in North Italy has a population of just 33,400 and its football team are ranked 199 places below second-placed Germany in the Fifa rankings.

Despite a mounting injury list, anything less than a convincing win tomorrow morning would be unacceptable to the four-time World Cup winners.

Germany top Group C with a perfect record of nine points from three wins, eight goals scored and zero conceded.

At the bottom of the table, San Marino’s part-timers have lost all three games, conceding nine goals and scoring just once, when Mattia Stefanelli netted in last month’s 4-1 defeat by Norway to be nicknamed “The Legend”.

“It was a great feeling to score a goal for my national team, I dreamt about doing it since I was a kid,” said the 23-year-old, who netted San Marino’s first goal in a World Cup qualifier since 2001.

Tomorrow’s match will be played at Serravalle’s Stadio Olimpico, which has a capacity of just 7,000.

This was the ground where Germany beat San Marino 13-0 in 2006 – an away record for die Mannschaft – and Stefanelli can expect few chances.

“Nothing is impossible,” he said.

“We will have to fight until the last minute to hope for an opportunity.

“It’s something unique and a great opportunity to face the world champions, we have to enjoy it.”

Previous results suggest a tough night for the hosts.

Germany romped to a 6-0 home win in 2007, when the teams last met, a year after that 13-0 rout when Lukas Podolski scored four goals.

German bookmakers Bwin are offering the lowest possible odds for a Germany win, as well as 4-1 for Die Mannschaft scoring 10 goals or more, with 51-1 for a San Marino win and 16-1 for a draw.

The Germans will want to preserve their perfect record on the road to Russia, having already beaten Norway, the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland.

“The last qualifying match of the year is just as serious as the three previous games, so we do not want to be arrogant in San Marino,” said Joachim Loew before boarding Wednesday’s flight to Rimini.

“We’ll be highly focused and serious in our task. It’s our duty to get a clear win in San Marino and to extend our lead in the table.”

However, Germany have injury woes, with captain Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Jerome Boateng and Mesut Oezil missing from their first-choice line-up.

Kroos (above) has a fractured foot which will force him out for about three months, Boateng has injured his groin as well as his right knee and Neuer has a virus.

Oezil has been rested for the trip, while forwards Julian Draxler and Julian Brandt also miss out with either injury or illness.

Loew has called up the uncapped trio of Serge Gnabry (Werder Bremen), Yannick Gerhardt (Wolfsburg) and Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen).

Despite missing some top names, the Germans expect a heavy win.

Miroslav Klose, the all-time top scorer at World Cup Finals with 16 goals, will be on the Germany bench for the first time as he begins his coaching career after retiring from football last week. – AFP.

The burnt smell that engulfed her Bukit Panjang flat came from an unlikely source: the back of her washing machine.

But the small fire soon engulfed the appliance and melted her bathroom door, filling her flat with smoke.

She called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and its firefighters were quick to put out the fire.

The 42-year-old housewife, who declined to be named, said her Samsung washing machine caught fire at her four-room flat in Block 469, Segar Road, on Wednesday morning.

She was alone in her living room when a burnt smell wafted in from the kitchen at about 11.30am.

She traced the source of the smell to the bathroom in the kitchen, where she had only minutes earlier put in a load of towels in her top-load washing machine.

“When I peered in, I saw a small fire behind my washing machine. I was shocked,” she said.

“My first instinct was to call the authorities. I was told to stay outside of my flat.”

She rushed out of her flat, closed the door and stood near the lift, which was about 20 to 30m away.

“The SCDF came very fast, I think in less than 10 minutes,” she said.

“When the firefighters opened the door, I saw thick, black smoke billowing through it.”

SCDF sent one fire engine, two Red Rhinos, two fire bikes and one support vehicle to the scene. The firefighters used compressed air foam to put out the fire.

“When I was out of the flat, my first thought was not my possessions, it was: ‘Thank God my child was not around,'” she said.

Her 16-year-old daughter was at a shop downstairs while her technician husband, 51, was at work.

“When SCDF told me it was safe to go back in, I noticed that most of my things were intact. I felt grateful,” she said.

The damage caused by the fire was mainly contained in the bathroom – some tiles were dislodged, the toilet door partly melted and the walls charred.

The towels she was washing were burnt to a crisp.

RENOVATE

It will cost the homeowners about $2,600 to renovate the bathroom.

The second-hand Samsung washing machine was bought for $400 four years ago at a shop in Serangoon.

Samsung Electronics Singapore said the incident is not linked to the recall of washing machines in North America. (See report at right.)

But the company is unable to comment on this specific incident until it obtains and thoroughly examines the appliance.

“Customer safety remains our highest priority and we want to work with any customer who has experienced an issue with a Samsung product in order to investigate the matter and to support them,” said the spokesman.

The Consumers Association of Singapore said it received one inquiry this month from a consumer concerned that his Samsung washing machine would explode after reading articles on the washing machines in North America.

Apple made a bold but risky move to take away that 3.5mm audio jackfrom the latest iPhone 7.

You can use the bundled EarPods, which use the proprietary Lightning port, or plug in an extra adaptor to use your existing headphones.

There is a third alternative – making use of wireless Bluetooth earphones.

Here are three to consider.

JBL REFLECT MINI BT (S$169)

Built for night runners and cyclists, the JBL Reflect Mini BT has a reflective wire that lights up when light shines on it, keeping you safe on your nightly runs.

The comfortable earwings and silicone tips help to create a secure fit, so strenuous activity will not cause the earbuds to fall out.

The Reflect Mini BT does well for itself in the higher frequencies, giving off crisp and clear trebles and mids.

Acoustic music with plenty of guitar strumming and piano jamming come off very soothingly.

The bass is strong and punchy, which is good for EDM, but it does not quite have the resonance associated with orchestral bass music, so this pair may not give you quite the right experience if you are listening to Hans Zimmer soundtracks.

Battery life is pretty good.

With around eight hours of audio playback, the Reflect Mini BT trumps the industry average of five hours, but that can be accredited to its larger than ideal earbud size.

Who should get it:

The JBL Reflect Mini BT is for those who want premium on a budget. With a long battery life and great audio fidelity, it is one of the best midrange audio devices I have tried.

MEE AUDIO M9B (S$59)

Nothing beats the Mee Audio M9B when it comes to price.

For an audio device under S$60, the M9B performs remarkably well in the audio department.

It is well balanced across all frequencies and gives clear highs and mids and a decent bass.

The bass is not as punchy as devices above S$100, but they are sufficient as everyday earphones to be used on your daily commutes.

The earbuds fit comfortably in your ears, although they do not provide the best noise isolation. The remote control is useful but a tad heavy, which may cause it to tug at your earbuds and fall off at times.

Who should get it:

If cost is a concern, the M9B is your top choice for a budget wireless earphone. If you intend to use it for regular pop songs, it should do just fine. But, if you are a heavy electronic dance music (EDM) listener, the M9B might disappoint.

JABRA SPORTS PULSE SPECIAL EDITION (S$258)

If you are in the market for wireless earphones, Jabra is without a doubt one of the first few brands you should be looking at.

The Sports Pulse earphones give a near perfect fit for your ears, thanks to the addition of memory foam tips.

They sit comfortably in your ears, blocking out nearly all ambient noise to give you unrivalled noise isolation and superb audio quality.

The punchy bass and haunting vocals are amazing.

The earwings also ensure that the Sports Pulse sticks in your ears during the most intense workouts.

The in-built biometric heart-rate sensor adds value to these earphones as the top choice for athletes who wish to stay within their training zone and get constant updates on their workout metrics.

I only wish the five-hour battery life was better, given the pair’s higher price tag.

Who should get it:

If you can afford it, the Jabra Sports Pulse Special Edition is a device you need to consider. As an athlete, it is the closest you will get to an ideal wireless audio device.

The gang of bikers did not care that there were an elderly woman and a child in the car.

They were out to terrorise the driver and his three passengers in the Singapore-registered Mercedes Benz into handing over their money and valuables.

The Singaporean family had to endure a 45-minute ordeal after they were waylaid on the congested Malaysian North-South Highway following what seemed like a staged accident when a motorcyclist hit their car.

The driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Jay, 31, told The New Paper on Tuesday that the bikers repeatedly hit his car with their helmets and other objects, damaging the headlights and side mirrors.

They even hit the front windscreen.

The incident took place between Yong Peng and Machap in Johor, about 45 minute’s drive from Singapore, around 10pm on Oct 30.

Last Friday, TNP reported that Singaporean businessman Herman Zaidin, 31, suffered a similar ordeal when he was robbed by a gang of bikers at 11.30pm on Oct 30 after a motorcyclist hit his Mercedes-Benz from behind. (See report at right.)

While it is not known if the same gang was behind both heists, it’s highly probable given the same method used in both incidents, which occurred about 90 minutes and 38km apart.

REPORTS

Mr Jay, an engineer, said he has reported the robbery to the Malaysian and Singapore police, with both confirming the reports.

He said his 20-year-old sister was sitting in the front passenger seat. Their aunt, who is in her 60s, was in the back with her 12-year-old adopted son.

They were returning to Singapore after a family trip to Malacca when a motorcyclist suddenly rode next to their car and kicked the side mirror on the driver’s side.

Mr Jay said he stopped the car when the rider fell.

“I was shocked,” he said.

“Suddenly, another rider came by and hit my car several times with his hands and helmet, asking me to step out. He tried to open my door but it was locked.”

Seconds later, about five motorcyclists stopped in front of his car. They ordered him to come out, but he stayed put out of fear.

Despite the heavy traffic, Mr Jay managed to drive forward in a bid to get away.

But the robbers, numbering about 10 by then, chased after him.

He saw that one of them was carrying a 1.5m wooden pole which he used to whack the already cracked windscreen, causing more damage.

Mr Jay said: “Just one more hit and the windscreen would have given way. I knew I had to step out to save my family.”

He told his sister to lock the doors immediately after he got out. The men took turns to beat him.

His sister, a student who wanted to be known only as Miss Annie, said she was so terrified that she broke down.

She told TNP: “My young cousin was also in tears. I called the Malaysian police.

“I also begged my brother not to get out but he insisted. He could have been killed.

“I felt so helpless when they beat him up, but I knew I shouldn’t get out of the car for my own safety.”

Mr Jay said the man who was carrying the pole was about to beat him with it when five motorists, who were passing by, stepped in to stop the attack.

“One of the attackers asked me to hand over my passport and RM2,000 (S$660) as compensation for causing the ‘accident’ with their friend,” he said.

“I gave them $650 and hoped they would leave us alone but they wanted my mobile phone as well. I refused to give it to them.

“Suddenly, they fled. I think they had other friends in the area who told them that the police were coming.”

The police arrived less than a minute later, and Mr Jay and his family went to Kulai Police Station to make a report. He then went to a nearby hospital for a check-up.

“I’m lucky I didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Just some pain and a few bruises here and there,” he said.

Because his car was damaged, he had to drive slowly to Woodlands Checkpoint and they cleared immigration only at around 6am the next day.

He reported the incident to the Woodlands West Neighbourhood Police Centre and had his car towed away to be repaired.Mr Jay estimated the cost of fixing his car to be about $30,000.

“I used to drive to Malaysia twice a month for leisure and to visit family. I think I’ll fly there from now,” he said.

“The attack was the most terrifying experience of my life.”

I used to drive to Malaysia twice a month for leisure and to visit family. I think I’ll fly there from now. The attack was the most terrifying experience of my life.

– Mr Jay