Adelaide man Floyd Siow botched servo robbery during ‘pathetic’ attempt to raise enough cash to repay drug debt, court hears

A young man, fearing his former drug dealer would break his kneecaps was so nervous when he tried to rob a service station that he dropped the knife over the counter and then fled, a court has heard.

COURTS. Floyd Siow has pleaded guilty to a botched armed robbery at a service station. Picture: Supplied

A young man, fearing a drug dealer would break his kneecaps over a $5000 debt, hatched a plot to rob a service station near his Collinswood home.

But it all went awry when the masked bandit Floyd Siow, 25, clumsily dropped his knife over the counter as he threatened the attendant.

The terrified worker fled into a safe room and Siow raced home empty-handed.

“It was terrible planned and terribly executed. If it wasn’t so serious it would have been pathetic,” Siow’s defence lawyer, Andy Ey, told the District Court this week.

“He simply walked there from his home address, which was just around the corner, without much forethought or planning, “ Mr Ey said.

Police traced Siow to his home and charged him with attempted aggravated commit theft.

District Court Judge Adam Kimber heard Siow had been trying to pay off the remainder of a drug debt when he committed the botched robbery on March 2.

Mr Ey said his client’s life was back on track after a period of drug use which ended with a charge of dealing MDMA.

In a display of mercy, the District Court suspended the jail sentence given to Siow for the drug trafficking during his sentencing in November 2019.

However, Siow’s happiness at being spared prison was short lived when his former dealer reminded him he still owed $5000 in previous drug debts.

Siow entered a kind of payment plan with the dealer and worked hard to make the payments.

However, the outbreak of COVID-19 brought an end to his employment and Siow was told he had to make good on the remaining $2000 or “his kneecaps would pay the price”.

During sentencing submissions prosecutor Lucy Hurley said that Siow’s lack of co-ordination under pressure had brought the already poorly planned caper apart.

“But for the accused’s clumsiness he may have succeeded robbing the service station,” she said.

Mr Ey said Siow had accepted that he would be serving a period of custody for both the armed robbery and the revocation of the suspended drug dealing sentence.

“This was a terrible hatched plan to rob the service station,” he said.

Judge Kimber allowed Siow to remain in the community until sentencing so he could help care for a sick family member.

He will be sentenced next month.