WHEN construction supervisor Wong Kam Sooi discovered a compressor stolen from the worksite in Geylang Bahru on Jan 30, he decided to track it down after making a police report.

The 43-year-old sent his workers to scour warehouses islandwide and the 1.3-tonne compressor, valued at $10,000, was found in a Sungei Kadut warehouse.

Police were informed and investigations led to the arrest of 31-year-old Nanthakumaran Lokanathan.

The odd-job worker pleaded guilty on Thursday in a district court and was jailed for a year and three months.

The compressor, which was placed at the entrance of the worksite, was used for power drilling and hacking equipment.

Nanthakumaran bought the compressor from an unknown man and then sold this compressor as well as another stolen compressor and a generator, which he had obtained from another source, to Pakistani national Abdul Aziz, 30, for an undisclosed sum.

Nanthakumaran, who then left to work in the United States, was arrested last month when he returned to bring his mother there. He had previous offences for possessing stolen property, the most recent just two years ago.