Monkey steals potato chips from 6th-floor apartment near Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Monkey steals chips from Bukit Timah apartment, resident says such intrusions not common

A resident in Bukit Timah has shared CCTV footage of a monkey stealing potato chips from his living room.

Incredibly, while his residence is near the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, it’s also an apartment on the sixth floor, he said.

Monkey enters unit via open balcony doors

The 24-second video was posted by a netizen in the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group on Sunday (21 July).

According to its timestamp, it was recorded on Friday (19 July) at 6.25pm.

It shows the monkey entering his living room via his open balcony doors and jumping on a side table next to his sofa.

After a short look around, the animal crossed the sofa, making a beeline for the coffee table.

Monkey grabs potato chips & runs out of Bukit Timah apartment

While there were a few other snacks on the coffee table, the monkey zeroed in on a bag of potato chips, laying its hands on it as if trying to pick it up.

In a quick movement, it grabs the bag with its mouth instead, turns around and runs out of the room via the balcony.

The primate can be seen moving around the balcony for a while but the potato chips are likely gone for good.

Resident says apartment is right beside Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

It’s a good thing he checked the footage, the resident said, and didn’t accuse his domestic helper of taking the chips, he joked.

Incredulous netizens asked him where his apartment was located, to which he replied that it was “right beside the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve”.

He added that his apartment was on the sixth storey — so it wasn’t common at all for him to get such intrusions despite being next to the jungle.

However, another Bukit Timah resident said she’s had “several monkey invasions” via her kitchen windows, leading her to install extra grills on top of her normal grills.

Amazingly, these daring invasions occurred in the presence of residents sitting about 2m to 3m away, she added.

Many netizens advised him to close his windows. But a commentator, hopefully jokingly, said he wanted the monkey’s contact details as he “might have a few jobs for him”.

NParks advises residents to keep food out of sight

According to the National Parks Board (NParks), residents can monkey-proof their homes by installing mesh or grilles on their windows and doors, and closing them when monkeys are spotted.

This includes bathroom windows and pet entrances, which should be latched when not in use.

NParks also advised residents to keep food out of sight by stored it in ovens or cabinets, or covered up by opaque containers.

They can also use recyclable cloth bags for groceries instead of plastic bags, as monkey recognise plastic grocery bags as food sources.

Homes are less attractive to monkeys when they don’t have visible food sources, NParks said.

When monkeys are unable to find food, they tend to stay in an area only for a short period of time, it added.

Also read: Monkey Steals Banana From Changi Village Goreng Pisang Stall While Owner Serves Customers

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Featured image adapted from Simon Owen Khoo on Facebook.