13 hours ago
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SINGAPORE: A sister-brother duo who went to a McDonald's outlet at midnight and left with a bag of burgers and nuggets were shocked when a man snatched the bag from them before cycling away.
Mohammad Hisyam Basheer, a 41-year-old Singaporean man, was charged with snatch theft and went on trial on Monday (Feb 23).
He is accused of using criminal force on 20-year-old Christopher Joseph Peter when he snatched the bag of food worth S$21 (US$16.60) away from him.
The incident happened at about 1.45am on May 18, 2025, near the McDonald's outlet at Sun Plaza in Sembawang.
Hisyam has been remanded for almost nine months.
On Monday, he refused to engage verbally in court.
The case opened with the interpreter stating that Hisyam wanted to change his spoken language to Arabic. This was even though he had used English and Malay in court sessions previously.
When Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh asked if he understood English, Hisyam – who was masked and in a prison jumpsuit – stood motionless in the dock.
After trying a few times with no response, the judge said: "From what I observe, he obviously understands English and/or Malay."
The trial proceeded in English.
The prosecution said that it would be extending a plead-guilty offer to Hisyam, which would allow him to be released "quite soon" because of his remand period.
However, when the interpreter read the charge to him, Hisyam covered his face with his mask.
When asked by the judge if he was going to plead guilty or claim trial, Hisyam kept quiet, before slowly shrugging his shoulders.
VICTIM TESTIFIES
Mr Peter, the alleged victim, took the stand for the prosecution and described what happened that day.
He said that his residence at Yew Tee was under renovation, so he was staying elsewhere temporarily nearby.
He went to the McDonald's branch at Sun Plaza to eat with his sister. Before leaving, they called their mother to ask if she wanted anything.
They then bought two cheeseburgers for their mother and placed the leftover nuggets in the same bag before leaving the restaurant.
"Suddenly this guy comes toward us and said, 'I want burger'," Mr Peter said.
"He took the bag from my hand and it tore. He bent down slightly, picked up the McDonald's bag (and) said 'f*** off' before cycling away."
Mr Peter recounted that the thief looked "determined" and that the whole thing happened so quickly, he did not really have much time to have a proper reaction.
"I was just like, what is happening? Is this real?" he added.
"My sister and I were just shocked by the whole thing, so we just ... we were talking about what we should do, should we call the police, should we tell our mum first?
"I can't remember if we called our mum first or the police first, but we definitely did both. Then we waited in McDonald's for the police to arrive," Mr Peter said.
Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang what he ate at McDonald's, Mr Peter said: "We had 20-piece nuggets. And I think I also got a McChicken burger meal."
He estimated that the cheeseburgers cost about S$7, while the nuggets were S$10 or S$14, but said that he could not remember if they were on offer.
Mr Peter's sister also testified, describing a man cycling towards them before getting off his bicycle and saying, "I want burger".
She said: "I was extremely confused and stunned. I didn't understand what was going on."
The prosecution played closed-circuit television footage that depicted the incident, but the figure of the cyclist in the footage was darkened and could not be made out clearly.
Asked whether the cyclist was Hisyam, Ms Peter was unsure. After Hisyam removed his mask on the judge's request, Ms Peter said: "Maybe?"
The trial continues.
If convicted of snatch theft, Hisyam could be jailed for between one and seven years and caned.
He has two other charges that have been stood down for the time being. These are for throwing a burger towards the Burger King kitchen at Changi Airport Terminal 1 in May 2025 and pushing utensils and condiments off the counter, and for cursing.
