'If he's not guilty, why did he run?' Yishun resident claims man roamed HDB corridors with intent to steal

A concerned Yishun resident has claimed that a man has been patrolling the corridor outside his HDB unit, allegedly looking for items to steal.

Speaking to AsiaOne, the resident, who wished to be known only as Ken, said his suspicions were first raised in April this year, when he noticed that a jersey he had hung on his balcony had gone missing.

"I first lost my jersey in April. I've always hung my clothes on the balcony to dry and secured them with clips, so it was unlikely that my items had been blown away," said the 29-year-old assistant engineer. 

Initially, Ken decided to brush it off until he started losing his items regularly.

It wasn't until August that he decided to take action and install a CCTV camera to capture the theft and upload the footage to his social media. 

"I decided to set up a CCTV to record everything. I still remember an incident when he came back to see if there was anything else to take — but he ran away the moment I stepped out," said Ken. 

"If he's not guilty, why did he run? He could've just walked past normally, but he acted all suspicious. That just made me suspect he was the one stealing my items."

Two videos posted to Ken's TikTok account of the man's suspicious behaviour have since garnered over 4,800 likes and 8,400 shares.

The footage showed a man loitering in the corridor of an HDB block, looking at items placed outside the units. 

In one clip, he acted oddly as he got on all fours and crawled along the corridor, seemingly to avoid detection. He then picked up a pair of slippers as he walked back towards the camera. However, appearing to notice the CCTV camera, he suddenly turned around and returned the item.

Ken told AsiaOne that by sharing his videos, he hoped that it will raise awareness so that more neighbours in the estate will remain vigilant when it comes to their belongings.

"I hope more people will take note and be cautious… Sometimes we get too comfortable and forget that there are dishonest people out there," said Ken. 

Ken has filed a total of four police reports.

"The police came down after I caught him roaming the area and spoke to him. They eventually let him go but told me they'd keep me updated on the case. I've yet to hear back from them," he added.

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com