Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012
MALAYSIA - Burglars thought they could make a quick buck by stealing a few computers from an office, but little did they know the office belonged to Lee Chong Wei. That lack of information cost them dearly as they missed out on the most valuable items there-his racquets.
Chong Wei's three racquets, worth RM74,000, (S$29,416), were found untouched on the floor, propped up against a wall after the break-in on Sunday at Bandar Puteri Puchong, Selangor. An office staff discovered the robbery on Monday morning.
Two years ago, the racquets were auctioned off to raise funds for the victims of the Japanese tsunami, but the winning bidder gave the rackets back to Chong Wei as a souvenir.
Other mementos including an Olympic torch-Chong Wei was a torchbearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics during its Malaysian route-and several badminton trophies were also left behind.
One of the seven stolen desktops, however, contained hundreds of wedding photos that Chong Wei and his fiancée Wong Mew Choo had just taken, along with several press statements about their pending marriage.
"The good thing is that despite losing several computers and the wedding photos, we have back-ups of those pictures. So it's not too bad after all," said Lee Chong Hoon, Chong Wei's older brother and the director of the housing development company, Chong Wei Binajaya.
He said the grille for the ground floor gate had been cut off and that two doors leading to the office on the first floor (of a four-storey shop lot) had been forced open. "The whole place was in a mess," added Chong Hoon.
He also said that the office had just shifted premises two months ago, so the CCTV and alarm system at the new office had not been activated yet. He estimated their losses at RM30,000.
"I informed my brother the minute I came to know about the incident, but he was probably still suffering from jetlag and was a little groggy given the time difference," Chong Hoon said. Chong Wei is currently in Odense for the Denmark Open until 21st October.
"He was concerned about the theft because it might affect the wedding," he added. "Still, he said that it would not affect his performance in Denmark. We're all hoping for the best."
Chong Wei, who won the Japan Open last month, has a clear shot at making the Denmark Open final. The 30-year-old will face former world junior champion Viktor Axelsen in the first round. A win should see him up against Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana in the next round.
With the absence of archrival Lin Dan, Chong Wei should cruise into the final where he's tipped to face defending champion and second seed Chen Long of China. After that, he'll be all set for his wedding on 10th November.
