Off-duty firemen nab theft suspect
The New Paper
Sunday, Jun 24, 2012
THE 16-year-old allegedly made a bet with his friends, but ended up a big loser. His friends had apparently told him they would give him $10 if he could snatch a phone from someone.
So on Monday, at about 8.40pm in a Woodlands estate, the teen approached a 25-year-old woman from behind and snatched her phone.
The woman shouted for help and a man nearby rushed to help her. He was joined by another two men who are members of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on their day off.
All three then split up to nab the teen.
Mr Muhammad Syazwan, 21, an SCDF fireman, said: “We were sitting at the void deck when we heard a woman shouting for help and we joined in the chase.”
Mr Syazwan was with his friend, Mr Muhammad Syafiq, 21, also a fireman.
“We then asked what happened and they said that there was a snatch thief,” said Mr Syazwan.
Detained
Within two minutes, they had detained the suspect at the void deck of Block 727, Woodlands Circle, 11blocks from where the snatch theft happened.
They managed to subdue him with ease as he was already tired.
Mr Syazwan then called the police.
“I asked him (the suspect) why he did it,” he said. “He said he didn’t expect things to be like this and that he just wanted to win the bet with his friends.”
The police arrested the teen and retrieved the stolen phone.
After his arrest, two of his friends, both 15, surrendered themselves at the Jurong Police Division Headquarters and admitted to being accomplices to the crime.
The three suspects were charged in court yesterday with snatch theft with common intention.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
