Man discovers second-hand e-scooter bought in Geylang is stolen item, hands over seller to police

A man and his friend bought a second-hand e-scooter at Lorong 10 Geylang on Thursday morning (April 19) but later discovered that the personal mobility device (PMD) was a stolen item. 

He rode after the seller on the e-scooter in a chase that spanned four streets, before catching up to the man and calling the police.

Mr Muhammad Azaari, 28, told Lianhe Wanbao that he and a friend, Muhd Sairi, 42, were approached by a man at around 1.50am while they were chatting at Lorong 10 Geylang.

The man attempted to sell the pair an e-scooter for $80. 

Normally, an e-scooter would cost between a few hundred to the thousands. 

Mr Azhari told The Straits Times that his friend decided to get the e-scooter because he ‘ looked desperate like he needed the money’. 

Half an hour after the purchase, Mr Azaari was scrolling through Facebook when he stumbled upon a post on the BWSS (Big Wheel Scooters Singapore) Forum saying that the e-scooter was stolen.

He said:

“We saw from the photos that it was the same e-scooter, and in the post, the description of the thief matched the outfit of the man who sold it to us.

“I was worried that my friend might be implicated and we started looking for the seller.”

The two ran into the man who sold them the scooter at around 5.40am while they were sitting at a coffeeshop. 

Said Mr Azaari:

“I shouted at him but he ran, so I chased after him on the e-scooter.”

Fortunately, he caught up with the man. 

When Mr Azaari and Mr Sairi confronted the man, he insisted that the e-scooter which he sold them had been his, and denied stealing it.

The pair brought him back to the coffeeshop at Lorong 10, where they then called the police and informed the original owner of the e-scooter.

The owner subsequently met the two in Geylang to retrieve his PMD.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, the e-scooter had been stolen at Lorong 35 Geylang. 

Asked why he decided to chase after the man, Mr Azaari told The Straits Times:

“We didn’t want to take the risk because it’s a stolen e-scooter, so I just tried to help out.”

In response to media queries, the police said it was alerted to a case of theft in Lorong 10 Geylang at 6.10am.

A 32-year-old man was arrested, and investigations are ongoing.