Tourist says he snatched his bag back from man at Gardens By The Bay, but lost passport & camera
A tourist from China has alleged that his Louis Vuitton bag was stolen at Gardens By The Bay, and though he managed to get it back after chasing down the suspected thief, he still ended up losing his passport and camera.
Relating the story in a series of posts on XiaoHongShu, the man with the username “Lao Hei Livefree” said he suspected the thief was part of a “gang”.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
Tourist’s bag goes missing after Supertree light show
The incident took place at about 9pm on 5 Oct, on what Lao Hei said was his first trip overseas and first trip to Singapore.
He and his friends had just watched the light show at the Supertree Grove, with the area crowded and dark.
At the time, his bag was placed behind them while they were discussing their itinerary.
When he heard urgent footsteps, he reached for his bag, only to find it gone.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
Tourist asks man for directions, snatches bag from him
Though he tried using the wireless earphones in his bag to track down the thief, he could not do so but knew he wasn’t far away.
While he got “a bit lost”, he eventually reached an exit and raised his hand to ask a man for directions.
However, the man took off running, prompting him to give chase and snatch a golden-coloured paper bag from him.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
Inside was his bag, which he finally got back in just 20 minutes.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
But the man disappeared into the bushes, he said.
He started shouting “thief” in Mandarin, and a young woman helped direct him to where the man had gone, but he had disappeared.
Tourist gets back bag but loses passport & camera
Lao Hei said that while he got his bag back, its contents — his passport, camera, livestreaming equipment and a sock he had put inside — were gone.
He also suffered blisters on his foot from the chase.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
Someone told him that they had seen the thief with his belongings stuffed inside his sock.
Tourist suspects man was part of ‘gang’ operating at Gardens By The Bay
In a follow-up post on 8 Oct, Lao Hei said he suspected the man, who was strangely wearing a headscarf, was part of a “gang”.
According to CCTV footage he claimed to have seen, the man he accosted appeared to have purposely avoided being recorded by CCTV cameras.
Firstly, he was seen to have entered Gardens By The Bay in a car via the exit. He then parked his car at a spot meant for buses. When he left, he drove out through the entrance.
He allegedly did this to avoid his licence plate being captured by CCTV, Lao Hei claimed.
When he got out of the car, he opened the boot and left. And when he returned, he threw something in the boot before closing it and leaving.
Thus, he concluded that the man was there to pick up stolen goods and was part of a “mature gang”.
CCTV footage handed over to police
Lao Hei said the footage had been handed over to the police, and hoped they would be able to catch the licence plate number from the dashcams of passing vehicles.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
However, he later questioned whether Singapore’s public safety had a “problem” because he had not received any updates from the police yet even though they had already identified the car that the man was driving.
He maintained that in that case, they should be able to trace the car from CCTV on the main road.
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Tourist says he’s prepared to ‘give’ items to the thieves
But Lao Hai appeared to take it easy in his earlier video, when he said that he really only wanted his passport back.
The money didn’t matter much as the thieves’ lives were probably “not easy”, so if they escaped, he would consider the items as a “gift” to them, he added.
He also noted that he tore the man’s clothes during the struggle, so it would be okay if his items could improve his life somewhat.
Source: 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu
“After all, what matters most in life is the experience,” he reasoned.
Also read: Taiwanese tourist claims housekeeper at Sentosa hotel stole S$3,000 from his room & denied it
Taiwanese tourist claims housekeeper at Sentosa hotel stole S$3,000 from his room & denied it
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Featured image adapted from 老黑livefree on XiaoHongShu and XiaoHongShu.
