Woman appeals for return of statues allegedly stolen from Geylang shop
A Vietnamese restaurant director has taken to Facebook to appeal for the return of two religious statues she believes were taken from her shop in Geylang, saying the items hold deep emotional and spiritual significance for her.
The appeal was posted on Wednesday (21 Jan) on Facebook by Ms Trần Thị Ngọc Giàu, after she discovered that both her Earth God and God of Wealth statues were missing from her premises at 45 Lorong 27 Geylang.
Ms Trần, 37, who goes by Yuki, told MS News that these were stolen from her Vietnamese restaurant named Ăn Là Ghiền.
Image courtesy of Yuki
She said she has been running the business since 2019 and has been in Singapore since 2014.
Earth God statue taken days earlier by same man, CCTV review shows
When Yuki reviewed her shop’s CCTV footage, she discovered that both statues were taken by the same person.
Speaking to MS News, she shared that the man first swiped the Earth God statue on 17 Jan at 5.54pm.
Video courtesy of Yuki
Meanwhile, the God of Wealth statue was stolen on 19 Jan.
Video courtesy of Yuki.
She said her staff only realised both statues were missing on 21 Jan.
“My staff only discovered it on 21st when both were missing because the other staff misunderstood that the other one had been thrown,” she said.
‘I was shock… I don’t believe people dare to steal it’
Yuki had been informed about the missing statues via text.
“At that point, I was shocked because I didn’t expect it,” she said. “I did not believe that people would dare to steal it at the shop.”
She added that the statues were significant to her because of their personal and spiritual meaning.
In her post, she wrote that the statues were a gift from her friends for her grand opening in 2019 and had been with her for seven years.
Source: Trần Thị Ngọc Giàu on Facebook
“I believe that since I pray to them, my business is improving,” she told MS News. “So I believe they’re praying for us as well.”
Yuki hoped the person involved would return the statues peacefully.
Howevers, she also said she would make a police report if the items were not returned by 30 Jan.
Staff upset but business operations unaffected
Yuki said the disappearance had upset both her and her staff, although business operations have continued as usual.
“My staff and I are very upset because we use to pray it almost every week. Now that we suddenly can’t see it, we do feel like we lost our family members.”
She initially chose to appeal publicly instead of filing a police report, saying she did not want to get anyone into trouble.
“For me, I only want to get back my things. I did not want anyone to get in trouble,” she said to MS News.
“So I just want the man to see that we have the proof that he took the items, and for him to automatically come back and return it to us.”
Police report lodged after advice from friends
However, after receiving advice from friends, Yuki decided to make a police report.
“I decided to just lodge the report after friends’ advice, and to get the statues back quicker,” she said.
Yuki added that she had not received any leads following her Facebook post.
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a police report has been lodged.
Investigations are ongoing.
Thief believed to have visited restaurant multiple times
Based on CCTV footage and transaction records, Yuki estimated the man involved to be between 45 and 50 years old.
“From his name, I feel that he is Singaporean,” she added.
Yuki also said her staff recalled seeing the same man at the shop earlier on 16 Jan — a day before the first statue was stolen.
Based on the CCTV footage seen by MS News, the man did not patronise the restaurant on 19 Jan when he stole the God of Wealth statue.
He simply loitered around and pretended to sit near the statue before taking off with it.
Vid courtesy of Yuki
‘Singapore is not as safe as it used to be’
When asked about her feelings on safety in Singapore, Yuki said that while she felt that “Singapore is not as safe as it used to be”, she “still truly loves Singapore because the police take action very quickly”.
She said an officer from Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre contacted her shortly after she made the report.
“After I made the police report, just 10 minutes later, [a policeman] from Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) contacted me and has been following up on the case very closely until now.”
Pic courtesy of Yuki
Yuki added that this is the first time such a theft has occurred at her premises.
“I have doing this business, directing this restaurant since 2019. There have not been any crimes here up to now.”
She also shared that the incident has taken an emotional toll on her.
“You know, from yesterday till now, since I knew that I lost these two, I can’t sleep,” she told MS News.
“I worked till 1am, went home, and kept checking the CCTV footage till 5am.”
Yuki hopes that the police will be able to find the man soon.
Also read: Sengkang police appeal for information on 2 teens involved in shoplifting cases
Sengkang police appeal for information on 2 teens involved in shoplifting cases
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Featured image courtesy of Yuki.
