They ambush, help nab suspected newspaper thief
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="560"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="350">
</td> <td width="5">
</td> <td align="left" valign="top" width="200"> <table> <tbody><tr> <td height="81">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="content_subtitle" align="left">
Sun, May 02, 2010
The New Paper </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="15">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3"> <!-- TITLE : start -->
They ambush, help nab suspected newspaper thief <!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">
</td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" class="bodytext_10pt"> <!-- CONTENT : start -->
[Above: The suspect reportedly loaded stolen newspapers into this car.]
By Ng Yang Han
HE DID it twice and got away. Emboldened, he returned again - but was caught red-handed early yesterday morning. It was the third time he tried stealing a stack of newspapers, figuring it was an easy way to make a fast buck. Twenty-four bundles of newspapers went missing in Bukit Batok on Tuesday and Wednesday. This led to a one-hour delay in the delivery of the newspapers because they had to be reprinted, said Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) circulation department.
About 2,400 copies of the Life! and Classified sections of The Straits Times were stolen from the void deck of Blk 633 Bukit Batok Central on those two days. SPH's circulation department then decided to mount an ambush to catch the culprit. Four staff members were deployed at three locations around Bukit Batok Central early yesterday morning. At about 1.30am, the suspect - a 29-year-old - approached the delivery drop point at the void deck. He began loading one bundle after another into his car.
A circulation staff member then confronted him and called the police. The man was arrested. Subsequent checks with a rag-and-bone company in the Bukit Batok area confirmed that the earlier 24 bundles of stolen papers were sold to them.
<table align="left" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="250"> <tbody><tr> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>
CUFFED:The suspect was arrested at the void deck of Blk 633 Bukit Batok Central.</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
We understand that the total 30 stolen bundles of newspapers - including six bundles looted yesterday - could have fetched up to $150 on the rag-and-bone market.
SPH's senior manager (circulation department), Mr Bernard Yeo, said: "The theft was definitely an inconvenience to us. "If they (newspapers) were not reprinted and delivered on time, consumers would not want to buy an incomplete set."
Other cases
He added that the circulation department had undertaken ambush operations to catch newspaper thieves in the past, in estates such as Bishan, Clementi and Yishun. He recounted a similar incident a few years ago when a thief was jailed for a month after he was caught stealing newspapers in Geylang. The police confirmed the arrest and are investigating.
[email protected]
</td></tr></tbody></table>
