A 55-year-old man has been charged after allegedly stealing S$390 from a temple in Bedok, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release sent to MS News.
CCTV footage showed him using a plastic rod to fish cash out from the donation boxes, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Source: Google Maps
At about 4.06am on Friday (31 July), SPF was alerted that a temple along Bedok North Avenue 3 had been broken into.
Cash amounting to S$390 was stolen from donation boxes, SPF noted.
Officers from Bedok Police Division identified the suspect after conducting follow-up investigations and viewing CCTV and police camera images.
He was arrested within three hours of the report being made, and S$290 in cash was recovered.
Source: Singapore Police Force
CCTV footage provided by the Seu Teck Sean Tong temple to Shin Min showed the masked suspect holding a plastic rod with a card attached to the other end.
He repeatedly inserted the rod through the slot of a donation box, adjusting the angle so that cash would stick to the double-sided sticky tape on the card.
At one point, he appeared to also use a piece of string to fish out the cash.
The suspect seemed calm while doing this, even brazenly moving around the premises and opening cabinets without showing any sign of anxiety.
Professor Yu Yiyuan (transliterated from Mandarin), executive secretary of the temple, told the Chinese daily that the temple is currently undergoing renovation works.
But they decided to install temporary CCTV cameras when they found more than S$3,000 had disappeared from the donation boxes, as well as a discarded plastic rod.
Of the temple’s three donation boxes, two of them have wider openings so devotees can deposit red packets during festive occasions.
But this made them vulnerable to the alleged theft, while the third, which had a narrower slot, was not targeted.
The slots on the two boxes will be narrowed to prevent similar incidents, he said.
Source: Seu Teck Sean Tong 修德善堂养心社 on Facebook
SPF said the man is believed to be linked to two unreported cases of housebreaking and theft at the same temple, according to preliminary findings.
Cash amounting to S$1,965 was stolen in these previous cases.
On Saturday (1 Aug), he was charged in court with the offence of housebreaking and theft under Section 458A of the Penal Code 1871.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and caning or a fine.
SPF advised the public to adopt crime prevention measures, including securing openings on their property with good-quality grilles and closed-shackle padlocks when unattended.
They should avoid keeping large sums of cash and valuables on the premises.
A burglar alarm, motion sensor lights, and/or CCTV cameras may also be installed at the access points into the premises.
These devices should be tested periodically to ensure they are in good working condition.
Also read: Tiger God statue disappears from Balestier temple, man seen loitering nearby around midnight
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force and Google Maps.