Police warn shoppers to be wary of pickpockets

Police have warned shoppers to be wary of pickpockets during the festive season. The warning comes as police are on the look-out for a syndicate targeting shoppers in the Tampines area.

It is to distract the victim, keep watch or block the view of other members of the public, while another group steals exposed items such as handphones and wallets from bags.

The suspects, believed to be Vietnamese nationals, are said to be members of a pickpocketing syndicate. Three of them have already been arrested. The Police believe they are responsible for a recent spate of cases in Tampines Central, Bedok Central and Ang Mo Kio Hub.

The trio, a man and two women, are aged between 28 and 38 years old. They were arrested with the help of Ms Connie Ang, an alert sales assistant in a Tampines shopping mall, on Wednesday. Ms Ang had called the Police to say that she had seen three suspects trying to steal from a shopper in her shop. After calling the police, she tailed the suspects, but lost sight of them in the crowd. When Police officers arrived, she handed over the footage captured from the CCTV camera in her shop. Later, she came across another three suspicious-looking persons loitering in the mall. Again, Ms Ang followed them and called the Police who arrested them.

Life is hard & times are bad... For them.. This is the easiest way out.