Vendor confronts alleged Pokémon card thief after theft during HobbyCon at Suntec
A vendor at HobbyCon 2026 in Singapore caught a man allegedly trying to steal a rare Pokémon card, with the entire confrontation captured on video.
Alleged Pokémon card thief caught red-handed
In a Facebook post shared by JaxStop – Toys & Collectibles on 9 March, the vendor claimed the incident happened while he was running a booth at HobbyCon 2026 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.
According to the vendor, the suspected thief was browsing through a binder of trading cards when he reportedly slid a Shining Celebi Pokémon card under his phone.
The vendor claimed his team was busy assisting other customers when he noticed something suspicious.
“My team was busy helping other customers when I noticed him slide the card under his phone and slowly move it toward his pocket,” the vendor wrote.
Confrontation caught on video
The vendor said he then quietly began recording and waited to see if the man would attempt to walk away with the card.
In the video, the vendor can be heard confronting the man as he approached what appeared to be the exit of the venue.
“Hey buddy, right behind you man, come here. What card did you take?” the vendor said.
When the man initially ignored him, the vendor said louder, “Hey, this guy is a thief. He stole a card.”
The vendor then turned to the event staff and pointed at the man’s pocket, saying: “It’s right here.”
Source: JaxStop – Toys & Collectibles on Facebook
The man was seen removing his phone and the Pokémon card from his pocket, but denied stealing the card.
Notably, the card bore a tag stating its price as S$960.
“I did not,” the suspected thief said, before later adding, “Hold on, that was my bad, okay… I apologise, I didn’t mean to.”
Source: eBay
Despite his apology, the vendor insisted he had video evidence showing the man hiding the card under his phone before putting it into his pocket.
Suspected thief allegedly runs off
When the vendor pointed out that the man was already walking out with the card, the event staff asked if they should call the police.
According to the clip, the suspected thief, who later identified himself as “Matthew”, allegedly ran off when the vendor tried to call the police.
Source: Pokemon.com
In the caption, the vendor jokingly compared the situation to facing Team Rocket, the infamous antagonists in the Pokémon series.
“Not gonna lie… hunting Pokémon thieves feels almost as fun as hunting Pokémon,” he wrote.
Despite the confrontation, the vendor expressed that the convention itself was a positive experience, thanking the event organisers for “one of my best shows so far.”
Netizens urge vendor to make police report
After the video was shared, netizens flooded the comments section, with many urging the vendor to make a police report.
One user said that not doing so will be a “disservice to the vendors he’s going to steal from in the future”.
Source: Facebook
Others felt that the suspect showed no remorse.
Source: Facebook
One Facebook user suggested that the man should be made to pay S$960 for the card.
Source: Facebook
Another netizen joked that the man was from “Team Pocket” instead of “Team Rocket”.
Source: Facebook
MS News has reached out to JaxStop – Toys & Collectibles for more information.
Also read: S’pore owner of ‘Holy Grail’ Pokémon card rejects S$1.3M offer, expects its value to rise
S’pore owner of ‘Holy Grail’ Pokémon card rejects S$1.3M offer, expects its value to rise
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Featured image adapted from JaxStop – Toys & Collectibles on Facebook.
