Man in his 20s steals iPhone 17 Pro Max from Hougang shop in broad daylight

SINGAPORE: A man successfully fooled a mobile phone store when he pretended to be a customer wanting to buy a phone, and eventually snatched an iPhone 17 Pro Max in front of everyone. The loss is estimated to be nearly $2,000.

Case details revealed that the incident happened at around 1:00 p.m. on Oct 20, at a mobile shop located at Hougang Middle Road. As reported by Shin Min Daily News, a 34-year-old store employee admitted that a man in his 20s with tattoos all over his left arm went to the store wearing a helmet and specifically asked to view the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

When the store employee handed the phone to the suspect for his review, the man only looked at it once, and immediately picked it up and ran away. With this, the employee chased after the suspect and searched around the area, but failed to locate him. 

“I went back to the store and contacted other colleagues to come and help watch the store. I planned to go out and look for him again with another colleague,” the employee remarked. 

When the store employees could not find the suspect, they had no choice but to return to the store and report the incident to the police. The employees searched the area for 15 minutes, but still failed to catch the suspect. 

“The phone was worth nearly $2,000, and we probably won't be able to get it back,” the employee declared. 

First-time experience 

This was the first time that the shop had encountered such an incident in over five years since they opened. Now, they are left with fear and will make sure to keep an eye on their customer’s every move from now on. 

The shop also suspected that the man had planned the crime in advance and prepared how to conceal his identity right from the very start. 

The Singapore Police Force confirmed that it had received a report and that the case is under investigation.

In another case, a Malaysian freelance watch repairman pawned three Rolex watches worth RM420,000 (about S$42,000) belonging to his boss to pay off gambling debts. The theft came to light after the pawn shop owner alerted the watch shop owner.

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