The 'good samaritan' offered him a piece of tissue to clean himself.

But seconds later, Mr Bannan, 51, a director-cum-photographer, would regret accepting the woman's kind gesture.

As he was cleaning up the mess, someone took an envelope containing $10,000 cash from his backpack.

That was when he realised it was all a ploy to distract him.

The theft took place last Thursday afternoon at the UOB branch in Tanjong Pagar Plaza.

Mr Bannan had arrived in Singapore the day before, for work. He had been here several times previously.

At 1.30pm on Thursday, he had gone to the bank to deposit $12,000 in New Zealand currency.

He said he was advised by a bank officer to change the money into Singapore currency first, and he did this at a moneychanger nearby.

He then returned to the bank with $10,000 in Singapore currency, in an envelope.

As he was standing at a counter, he noticed a stench like that of excrement.

Then a woman, who looked to be in her 40s, pointed animatedly at him.

Mr Bannan told The New Paper: 'She pointed to the back of my jeans and said, 'You smell! You smell!'.'

He looked down and saw a brown stain near the right pocket of his jeans. It was what was causing the foul smell.

'It looked like I had soiled my pants,' Mr Bannan said.

He said three other customers in the bank started giving him strange looks.

'It was very embarrassing.'

He said the woman then gave him a piece of tissue, which he used to wipe his jeans with.

As he was cleaning himself, he noticed the woman walking out of the bank.

It was then that Mr Bannan smelled something fishy, so he immediately checked his backpack.

His worst fears were confirmed when he found the envelope containing his cash missing.

Although he suspected that the woman had something to do with it, he said it did not occur to him to go after her, though she had left the bank only seconds earlier.

Instead, he alerted the bank's security guard, who then informed a member of the bank's staff.

Mr Bannan said the staff member asked him some questions and then told him to wait.

After more than an hour, Mr Bannan called a Singapore friend to ask for the number on which he could call the police.

A police spokesman said they received the call at 2.50pm.

Mr Bannan said two police officers arrived at the bank five minutes later. He later gave a statement at the Police Cantonment Complex.

Mr Bannan said the police told him that CCTV footage from the bank had shown that the woman could be working with an accomplice.

When contacted, the police declined to comment, noting that the investigations are on.

Mr Bannan said it was unlucky that he got robbed on his second day in Singapore and wanted to warn others to be careful.

He said he had come to Singapore this time with plans to settle down here permanently.

Will the robbery spoil his impression of Singapore as a safe country?

'No,' he said. 'And I hope this incident will not mar the image of the country.'