Man accused of stealing durians from Chinatown shop; police report filed

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade - but what do you do when life takes durians away?

Durian seller 99 Old Trees has made the most of a situation where a man allegedly stole durians from their shop in Chinatown, according to an Instagram post last Wednesday (Jan 21).

The post, which has since garnered over 3,500 likes, comes with the caption: "If you get caught committing a crime, we are (going to) squeeze and milk as much content out of your crime."

In the timestamp on the video attached to the post, the incident likely took place at around 2.45pm on Jan 15.

Describing the situation as the "greatest magic show in Singapore's history", 99 Old Trees co-founder Kelvin Tan gave a summary of events.

According to security footage, a man with a small black duffel bag hanging on his shoulder can be seen strolling around outside the shop, picking up two boxes of durian.

As he steps into the shop, however, footage from a different camera shows that the two boxes have disappeared from his hands, prompting Tan to jokingly call the man "Master Houdini".

"Houdini might have been successful all his life," Tan stated. "But this time, what he didn't realise was that his performance was caught by our third discreet camera."

Footage showing the alleged thief's sleight of hand is then shown, where he slips the two boxes into his duffel bag.

By the time he enters the store, the boxes are already tucked away.

The man then peruses the store like a regular customer, taking a look at the display counter.

"Better luck next time, Houdini," Tan further taunts. "Good luck escaping Changi prison!"

The video ends as Tan crosses the road towards Police Cantonment Complex, and has reportedly filed a police report.

Taking a more empathetic tone, the post also states: "But seriously ah, if you really feel like eating and living on hard times, let us know. We treat you."

In response to queries by AsiaOne, a 99 Old Trees spokesperson said that a staff member had felt that the alleged thief was behaving suspiciously.

Staff then reviewed closed-circuit television footage, but the suspect had already left.

The spokesperson shared that they have previously experienced theft cases involving display souvenirs, trinkets and even weighing scales and posters.

"We decided to make this content to raise awareness," the spokesperson said, adding that they didn't expect the video to "blow up" on social media.

The spokesperson added that police have identified the suspect.

Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police confirmed that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com