Police nabs man suspected of serial underwear thefts at Bedok Reservoir

SINGAPORE – The police have arrested a 26-year-old man who is suspected of being involved in a series of undergarment thefts around the Bedok Reservoir estate.

In a media release on Friday (Oct 13), the police said the arrest was made on Thursday – three days after a female resident at Block 135 Bedok Reservoir Road reported the loss of undergarments which were hung on the laundry rack along the corridor of her flat.

The police said they tracked down the suspect through ground investigations and police camera footage.

The man is suspected of being involved in a string of other similar cases around the Bedok Reservoir estate, though the police were unable to reveal the number of victims affected.

Earlier this week, an undated video on social media showed a man taking a woman’s bra from a clothes rack outside a HDB flat. TODAY understands that the man depicted in the video is the same man who was arrested, though it is unclear when the video was taken.

While the police did not reveal the suspect’s nationality, the video showed a stocky bespectacled man wearing an army green t-shirt and black shorts. 

In the first few seconds of the video, he was seen pacing back and forth beside the clothes rack with a mobile phone pressed to his cheek – though he did not appear to be speaking. 

Then, in a swift movement, he put down the phone before looking to either sides of the corridor and reached out for a black bra on a clothes hanger. 

Investigations against the man are ongoing.

If convicted for theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, he faces up to three years in prison and/or a fine.