Caught on CCTV: Gang of 5 steals iPad from man's bag

[Wishing]

Caught on CCTV: Gang of 5 steals iPad from man's bag

AsiaOne
Monday, Jul 29, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR - A few people to keep everyone distracted and one person to do the deed was all this group of thieves needed to successfully steal an unsuspecting man's iPad from his bag.

The incident which was captured on CCTV took place on Jul 18 just before 8pm at Ampang Point Shopping Centre, Malaysia, at a McDonalds.

The victim who was alone, has just paid for an ice cream when he was targeted by the gang of five thieves.

One man distracts the victim at the counter by appearing to clean something on the floor, while another woman distracts the cashier preparing the ice cream behind the counter.

Another two acted as lookouts, shielding the man who reaches into the bag to steal the iPad.

The theft took about 30 seconds, from the point the man was targeted and everyone moves into position till the thieves leave the restaurant.

 

[Wishing]

The victim is holding an iPad, and the man in white behind him is the leader of the gang of thieves.

The woman holding an empty tray is an accomplice, and so is the woman next to her.

The man in white signals to the woman with the tray to get in position.

He then signals to the other accomplices (off screen) to get into position.


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[Wishing]

The woman with an empty tray moves to the bottom left of the screen.

A man in a polo shirt drops something or cleans something on the ground, distraction the victim.

The lookout (in white sleeves) points to the other female lookout who is already in position.

The thief moves in while the victim is distracted by what is going on at his feet.

The thief uses his right hand to grab the iPad, making it easy to hide once he snatches it out of the man's bag on the counter.

While the thief is at work, the woman with the empty tray distracts the McDonalds staff.


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[Wishing]

By the time the man notices, his iPad is already gone. The theft takes places in just a few seconds.

The distraction looks up to see if his accomplice has succeeded.

When he sees that he has walked away with the iPad, all the accomplices leave.

The last lookout remain, 'guarding' the victim as his accomplices get away.

The victim, maybe feeling something is amiss, grabs his bag. But it's too late as his iPad is already gone.

In light of this incident, we urge AsiaOne readers to be vigilant and keep valuables close to you at all times when in public places,
to reduce the chances of being victims of pickpockets.

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