A thief had the ingenious idea of wrapping his head with a plastic bag to hide his identity while breaking into a coffee shop and stealing from the cashier.
He made off with more than $700 and a mobile phone, but was arrested later that same day.
The incident happened on 28 May at about 2am, at a coffee shop located along Boon Tiong Road, according to Shin Min Daily News.
One of the stallholders spoke to SMDN and said that the drinks stall owner opened for business at about 5.30am and found the place in a mess.
He then suspected that a burglary had taken place and called the police, as well as alerting the other 6 stall owners who discovered that their stalls had also been burgled.
The suspect was seen in CCTV footage cutting the wires attached to the cashiers and leaving the coffeeshop with 5 cash registers.
Through ground enquiries and the use of police camera images, a 55-year-old man was later arrested for his suspected involvement in the case.
He was charged on Monday with housebreaking and theft.
Here is the police’s statement
The Police have arrested a 55-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of housebreaking and theft.
On 28 May 2022 at 5.55 am, the Police received a report that a coffeeshop along Boon Tiong Road was broken into. Five cash register machines with cash amounting to about $700 and a mobile phone, were purportedly stolen.
Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras, officers from Central Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on the same day of the reported crime. One mobile phone was also recovered from the man.
The man will be charged in court on 30 May 2022 with housebreaking and theft under Section 451 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment for a term up to 10 years and a fine.
The Police would like to advise all property owners to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- Secure all doors, roller shutters, windows and other openings with good quality grilles and closed-shackled padlocks when leaving your premises unattended;
- Install a burglar alarm, motion sensor light and/or CCTVs, to cover the access points into your premises. Ensure that they are tested periodically and in good working condition; and
- Refrain from keeping large sums of cash in your premises
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
29 May 2022 @ 7:00 PM
Images source: Screengrab from the coffeeshop’s CCTV footage via SMDN