Arrested: Bukit Batok underwear thief who stole 50 undergarments within 3 months

Update on Feb 27, 5pm:

A 63-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in the spate of undergarment theft. 

In an official statement, the police said that were alerted to the case at Block 106, Bukit Batok Central on Thursday (Feb 22).

Officers from the Jurong Police Division identified the suspect through extensive ground enquiries and the aid of footages from police cameras, leading to his arrest on Monday (Feb 26) at 8.05pm.

The suspect is believed to be also involved in other similar cases in the Bukit Batok estate. 

He will be charged in court for the offence of theft on Wednesday (Feb 28). 

If convicted, he faces up to 3 years' jail and/or a fine.  

Original article:

An uncle caught on video taking female underwear from a laundry rack at a Bukit Batok had ‘visited’ the same household at least five times in the last three months, according to the husband of a victim.

Mr Li, 29, said that some 50 pieces of underwear have gone missing since the uncle started his spree.

On one occasion, he was sitting by the window, but the man still went ahead and took the underwear, including a new brassiere worth $200.

The man was later caught in the act by Mr Li who surveyed the corridor using a CCTV app on his phone and recorded the incident down. 

The husband Mr Li, 29, told Lianhe Wanbao on Saturday (Feb 24) that he and his wife had just moved into the rental flat at Block 106 Bukit Batok Central three months back.

Other than the Li couple, the landlord and his wife, together with their 13-year-old daughter, as well as two female tenants also stayed in the flat. 

As Mr Li and his wife often leave the flat early and return home late, their laundry are left on a rack at the corridor in the event that it rains and there is no one around to keep them.

Said Mr Lin:

“One day, my wife discovered that some of her undergarments were missing. At first, we thought that they had been blown away by the wind, but we became suspicious after it happened a few times.”

On Feb 14, 2018, Mrs Li hanged her underwear at the corridor and left to buy Chinese New Year goodies with the landlord’s wife. 

Said Mr Li:

“I was seated by the window and surfing the web. I didn’t realise that someone was lurking in the corridor. 

“After my wife returned about 10 minutes later, we discovered all her underwear had gone missing.”

Among the underwear stolen was a new brassiere worth $200, and Mrs Li reprimanded her husband for not being more vigilant.  

Said Mr Li:

“We called the police right away. Through the CCTV app on my phone, I directed the camera at the corridor. 

“On the evening of Feb 22, we caught an uncle on video taking underwear from our racks and handed the footage over to the police.”

According to Mr Li, about 5 pieces of underwear was stolen in the last three months, including those belonging to the other four female occupants. 

In response to media queries, a police spokesman said that it was alerted to a case of dishonest misappropriation of property and investigations are ongoing.