A WOMAN suffering from bulimia stole some food from a supermarket to satisfy her urge to eat, and was caught with sushi, waffles and bananas in her bag.
Yesterday, the Community Court made the rare decision to postpone sentencing Yeow Cheng Chiam, 48, for a year to see how she responds to treatment for her eating disorder.

People suffering from bulimia stuff themselves with large amounts of food and then purge what they have eaten.

Before this latest case, Yeow had been convicted of theft nine times since 1986, and had been sent to jail on at least four of those occasions.

In fact, her latest offence on May10 happened just two months after she was released from a five-year term of corrective training, a regime for repeat offenders that offers no chance of early release for good behaviour.

Psychiatrist Munidasa Winslow found that Yeow was suffering from depression, bulimia and an impulse control disorder.

Noting that the shoplifted items related to her eating disorder, Associate Professor Munidasa recommended a year-

long treatment plan, which includes monthly follow-ups with a regular psychiatrist. Yeow will also take part in an eating disorder programme and attend self-help group meetings at We Care Community Services at least twice a week.

Her lawyer, Mr Prasad Karunakarn, pleaded with the judge to consider probation or a short jail sentence, saying his client had good family support and was very remorseful.

'She does not know why she turned to shoplifting when there was no real need for her to do so, and she had been ashamed to talk about it or to seek help,' he said.

Yeow is the oldest of five siblings.

She pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing the sushi, waffles and bananas worth $38 from a Cold Storage supermarket at Bugis Junction.

Community Court judge Soh Tze Bian postponed sentencing until December next year, when Mr Prasad will give an update of Yeow's treatment plan before the judge decides what sentence to mete out.

The penalty for theft is a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.

The Community Court is allowed to deviate from prescribed sentences, especially if the accused is suffering from a psychiatric illness.

Over the last few years, the courts have granted probation to at least three kleptomaniacs - or those with a very strong urge to steal - when previously they would have been jailed or fined.

Yeow was first convicted of theft in 1986 when she was 26. Since then, she has been sentenced to jail terms of between nine months and five years.

The thin, bespectacled woman, a commerce graduate from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, was released in March after serving five years' corrective training for shop theft.

In April, she found a job as an administrative accounts assistant and earned $1,500 a month.

A month later, though, she was seen putting three boxes of sushi into her handbag, and two boxes of biscuits and a packet of waffles into a plastic bag. She also placed two bananas in another plastic bag before walking out of the supermarket without paying.

Yeow was detained by a house detective who also found four other stolen items.

In his mitigation plea, Mr Prasad said Yeow went to Bugis Junction that day to redeem some cash vouchers after a dental appointment. She had intended to leave immediately as she had just completed her jail term and wanted to stay crime-free.

While waiting in line, Yeow felt a very strong and uncontrollable urge to steal, the lawyer said.

After being caught, she apologised and begged the officer to let her pay for the items. But the police were called.

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What is bulimia?

BULIMIA or bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorder characterised by recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviours, referred to as 'purging'.
When a person suffers from bulimia, he or she eats a large amount of food within a short period of time and immediately attempts to 'purge' the food from their body either by forced vomiting or by using laxatives, to avoid weight gain.

It is a psychological problem due to issues with their weight, emotional baggage, depression, stress or self-esteem problems.

Sufferers consume huge quantities of food, sometimes up to 20,000 calories at one sitting.

The food on which they binge tend to be described as 'comfort food' - sweet food that are high in calories, or smooth, soft food such as ice cream, cake and pastry.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 20, 2008.