Two Chinese nationals, 33-year-old Liao Zongrui and 43-year-old Qin Shewan, had travelled to Singapore and visited a few temples around Singapore, stealing money from the donation boxes.
They made away with $11,930 within 22 days, according to Shin Min Daily News.
Both men were sentenced on 27 January to 3 months imprisonment for theft and possession of stolen goods.
The Chinese nationals came to Singapore on 6 December 2022, planning to steal money from donation boxes in temples across the country.
They would use a special “fishing” tool that they made themselves to “fish” the money out from the donation boxes.
The two men planned to remain in Singapore until 20 December before returning to China, but extended their stay here until 31 December.
They visited an average of about 4 temples per day during their stay here, visiting each temple via public transport, and “fished” the money out of the donation boxes each time as Qin kept watch for witnesses.
They were eventually caught in the act by a CCTV camera at an Upper Thomson temple, where an temple staff reported the incident to the police after finding them suspicious.
The two men were later identified by the police using CCTV footage and arrested on 27 December, where the authorities found $11,930 on them.