Singapore  - A Singapore court on Friday sentenced a former supervisor of a luxury watch retailer, who made off with goods worth several million US dollars, to nine years in jail, a media report said.

Jerry Ee, 36, had pleaded guilty to taking more than 360 expensive designer watches and other property worth 7.7 million Singapore dollars (5.3 million US dollars) from the outlet's safe after the shop closed on Christmas Day last year.

After the heist, he went to Bangkok with a friend and eventually fled to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, where he stayed in hiding for three months, the online edition of the Straits Times newspaper reported.

On March 17, Ee, who was on Interpol's wanted list, surrendered himself to authorities in Bangkok and was flown to Singapore shortly afterwards.

When Ee gave himself up, police recovered 230 new watches worth 4.6 million Singapore dollars.

Ee began pocketing watches as early as 2006 to pay off his football bets, the report said, citing the public prosecutor.

He committed the crime after his debts spiralled out of control.

The judge said that a stiff sentence was called for as this was one of most blatant and most audacious criminal breach of trust cases. (dpa)