A dance studio in Singapore has sounded the alarm after a man was caught on CCTV allegedly stealing an instructor’s shoes from outside its entrance.
This happened in broad daylight and almost forced the victim to leave the studio in her eight-inch heels until a colleague found her a spare pair.
Video courtesy of the dance studio
A spokesperson for the dance studio told MS News that the incident took place in the afternoon on a recent weekday.
The instructor had been practising alone after two colleagues left, but when she was packing up to go home in the evening, she noticed her shoes were gone.
“She was surprised she could not find her shoes and even called the other two instructors to ask if they had worn the wrong shoe, but they didn’t,” said the studio.
At first, she considered going home in her high heels, with the team also offering her hotel slippers.
Eventually, another instructor found spare trainers in her locker, so she wore those.
When the shoes could not be found, the staff decided to review CCTV footage.
What they saw left them shaken. “It was really shocking to see the person steal the shoe right outside our studio, even when the instructors were inside,” the spokesperson said.
Image courtesy of the dance studio
What disturbed them even more was how quickly the man acted. “This person appeared just eight minutes after our instructor arrived for her self-practice, and seemed to zero in on the shoes almost immediately.”
According to the studio, the footage also suggested that the man may have been recording with his phone camera as he entered the premises from the lift.
Video courtesy of the dance studio
The man, wearing different clothes, then purportedly entered the premises a while later from the staircase, saw the CCTV camera, and then left hastily.
Video courtesy of the dance studio
The incident unsettled the studio’s members, many of whom are women who leave their shoes outside during class.
“It made our team feel less safe because this incident happened in broad daylight,” the studio said.
While most said they did not feel unsafe during the crowded evening sessions, some have begun locking their footwear inside cabinets.
Meanwhile, they have rallied behind the victim and the studio, sharing the post online to voice disgust and question why someone would want to steal used shoes.
Photo courtesy of the dance studio
In response, the studio has tightened security. Its doors remain locked, and more CCTV cameras have been installed.
Motion sensors now alert staff to corridor movements, and students have been advised not to wear expensive shoes to class.
It has also put up notices on Instagram to warn people.
Screenshot from the dance studio’s Instagram account
“We informed our instructors and students to be more vigilant about their surroundings, and to notice if they are followed by anyone or if someone is behaving suspiciously around them,” the spokesperson said.
Instructors and members have also been urged to move around in pairs where possible, watch for suspicious behaviour, and report anything unusual immediately.
“Generally, we are still safe due to our crowd,” the studio said. “But we need to be careful from now on and not let our guard down.”
By sharing about what happened, the studio hopes to raise awareness and deter others from committing similar acts, it said, adding:
Hopefully, people will just not do anything illegal because it causes stress to others unnecessarily.
The man in the dance studio’s video might find some common ground with another man who was caught crawling on all fours along an HDB corridor in Yishun in an apparent attempt to steal a pair of slippers.
CCTV footage of his antics was posted on TikTok on 25 Aug, leaving viewers both amused and baffled.
In a media release on 29 Aug, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said a 48-year-old man had been arrested for his suspected involvement in a series of theft cases between 15 and 25 Aug in the vicinity of Yishun Ring Road.
Also read: Man crawls along Yishun HDB corridor & steals slippers, returns them after noticing CCTV camera
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Featured image courtesy of dance studio.