She zooms in on FRONT POCKETS OF HANDBAGS - PICKPOCKET FILMED IN ACTION AT TAMPINES SHOP
- SHE USES PLASTIC BAG TO HIDE HER ACTIONS, STEALS WALLET OR HANDPHONE
By Tan Mae Lynn
January 26, 2008
WHILE I was speaking to shop assistant Connie Ang about the spate of pickpocketing incidents at Century Square mall, she noticed something unusual.
Picture: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
A woman and a man had entered the Tampines shop separately.
The woman stood next to me, seemingly checking out the accessories on a counter.
The woman then asked: 'How much?'
She had a foreign accent.
Madam Ang, 30, turned to look at the woman, then calmly and slowly excused herself and walked towards the entrance.
As I held on tightly to my bag and moved to face the suspicious woman, she casually walked out of the shop with her accomplice following behind shortly after.
Madam Ang tailed the couple and immediately called the police, who were in the building on the lookout for pickpockets.
A man and two women, all Vietnamese nationals, were arrested at the mall that Wednesday night.
Two handphones were seized.
They will be charged in court tomorrow for two counts of pickpocketing. If convicted, they face three years' jail and a fine.
The trio, aged between 28 to 38, are here on social visit passes and are believed to be part of a syndicate responsible for a recent spate of cases reported in Tampines Central, Bedok Central and Ang Mo Kio Hub.
The spike prompted the Tampines neighbourhood Police Centre to issue an advisory last October, alerting shoppers of pickpockets around the Tampines Central area.
Madam Ang was especially vigilant that Wednesday night as there had been another incident earlier that day.
She said: 'When I saw some foreigners come in again and I wanted to close the shutters, but they were standing close to the (exit).
'I think they noticed I was watching them. They quickly left, taking different directions.'
She had been trying to nab the culprits for the past few months with the help of CCTV cameras.
The shop, which is about the size of an HDB flat bedroom, is monitored by seven CCTVs.
Footage from the last few days showed that the culprits usually struck when the shop was crowded and used plastic bags to cover their thieving hand.
Their movements were swift, and when they picked their spoil, it would be quickly handed over to an accomplice standing nearby.
Madam Ang said: 'They're mostly women in their 30s, and they're foreigners.'
LOST HANDPHONES
She said she noticed that every few days, there would be a customer returning to the shop asking if she'd seen a handphone.
On Monday, she had seen up to eight suspicious characters, usually in pairs, entering the shop.
And the pickpockets preyed on at least three victims that night, all within a span of 1 1/2 hours.
One of the victims was Miss Lynn Loke, 21.
The polytechnic student said she had been in the shop for 10 minutes.
Miss Loke said: 'When I went out of the shop, I wanted to make a call. Then, I noticed the front pocket of my bag was unzipped and my handphone was gone.
'I remembered that I sent an SMS, then put my phone inside my bag before going into the shop. I even zipped it up.'
She returned to the shop to ask if they had seen a handphone and was told by Madam Ang that she was the third victim that night.
For her civic-mindedness, Madam Ang, who is married with two primary school-going children, was commended by the Commander of Bedok Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lim Kok Thai, for her alertness and assisting police in apprehending the suspects on Wednesday.
DAC Lim said: 'We would like to remind the public to take care of their belongings, especially during this festive period.'
Police are still investigating the incidents that were reported on Monday night.
Madam Ang said: 'People must be reminded not to put valuable things in the front pockets of their handbags. Put them inside your bag and zip up.
'These people steal your things and pass them on to another person, and another, very hard to trace.
'Now, not only do we have to look out for shoplifters, we have to look for the pickpockets too.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...54525,00.html? 
3 suspects of pickpocket syndicate arrested 
She zooms in on FRONT POCKETS OF HANDBAGS 
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