Jerry Ee pleads guilty

Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, September 5 SINGAPORE : Former Cortina Watch employee, Jerry Ee has pleaded guilty to five charges — four for criminal breach of trust and one for money laundering.

He will be sentenced on September 18. Twenty other criminal breach of trust charges will be taken into consideration.

Last Christmas, Ee returned to Cortina’s Raffles City outlet after it had closed. Disarming the security alarm, he entered the safe, removed almost S$8 million worth of loot — 366 new watches, five pairs of cuff links and S$27,137 cash.

The court heard that in less than 30 minutes, he was done and left after re—activating the security alarm.

In March this year, Ee was brought back after 80 days on the run. It appears that he had fled overland to Thailand.

After selling 21 of the watches in Bangkok, Ee hid in Pattaya for about three months before surrendering to Thai authorities.

For the each of the four criminal breach of trust charges, Ee faces up to 15 years in prison and could also be fined. For the money laundering charge, he could be jailed up to seven years if convicted and/or fined up to S$500,000. — CNA/ms