But passer-by chases suspect and gets bag back for Edmund Chen's mum
'HELP! Thief!' cried actor Edmund Chen's mother as a tall, skinny man wearing a red cap sprinted away with her branded slingbag.
Alerted by the cries, a man gave chase along Bukit Purmei Avenue.
It was like a scene out of a TV drama serial.
A gawking audience recognised Mrs Chen as she had been in a supermarket advertisement with her daughter-in-law, TV actress Xiang Yun.
But Mrs Chen, 70, was not filming.
Last Saturday, she became part of a growing number of elderly who fall victim to crime.
Fortunately, she was not injured. Better yet, the man was caught and she got her bag back.
The man was charged in court on Monday.
Mrs Chen had gone to the Singapore Pools outlet at her HDB block to buy Toto around 6pm last Saturday.
But there was a long queue when she got there, so she decided to wait.
She said: 'I saw a chair outside the shop and sat down. At my age, my legs are not what they used to be.'
The next thing she knew, someone grabbed her bag from her lap.
Startled, Mrs Chen shouted for help and a man, who had just stepped out of the shop, raced after the thief, reported Shin Min Daily.
A stall assistant, who wanted to be known only as Ms Chen, 40, said the pursuer looked like he was in his 30s.
She said: 'He shouted, 'Stop, thief,' as they ran past the block.
'A man walking from the opposite direction heard and tried to grab the thief's arm as he ran past.
'But the thief just flung the man to the ground and kept running.'
The first pursuer was still hot on his heels, and after about 300m, another two men blocked the suspect's path.
A shop assistant, who wanted to be known only as Madam Ouyang, 54, said the two men were waiting for a taxi.
She said: 'They heard the shouts of 'thief' so they tried to help.
CAUGHT
'A police car drove up as the three men were struggling with the thief and the man was caught.'
She said the first pursuer, who was visiting his friend in the block, returned Mrs Chen's bag to her.
Madam Ouyang said: 'The man said he gave chase as he did not want the thief to strike again and target other elderly woman.'
Mrs Chen said she was thankful for the men's help. As her bag apparently had less than $100, she was willing to accept the loss.
She did not tell Edmund or Xiang Yun about the incident as she did not want to worry them.
She said: 'I was blessed that I was not hurt. Some people would have pushed or punched their victims.'
source:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...39066,00.html?