SINGAPORE — The man who allegedly threatened to blow up a ValueMax pawnshop outside Boon Lay MRT Station after his failed robbery attempt on Saturday afternoon (July 28) was nervous and “behaved like a kid playing some pretence game”, according to the male employee who faced off with him directly.

Speaking on behalf of her staff on Sunday, ValueMax executive director Yeah Lee Ching told TODAY the moustached robber – who looked to be in his early 20s – stuttered and paced up and down when her staff refused to hand over any cash or jewellery.

“The robber was so nervous he fled the shop, leaving behind his so-called ‘bomb’, which was obviously fake,” she said.

“To the staff, the robber behaved like a kid playing some pretence game.”

The shop’s staff immediately threw the object out of the shop and called the police. No one was injured.

On Saturday evening, the police said the man allegedly threatened to blow up the pawnshop with what he claimed was an “explosive device” after his demands were not met. 

Police later established that what the robber called an explosive device contained only “some electrical components” and classified the case under Section 4(A) of the Arms Offences Act.

Anyone found guilty of using — or attempting to use — arms while committing or trying to commit an offence could face the death penalty if convicted, whether he intended to cause physical injury to persons or property.  

During the investigations, the police closed off a section fronting the train station for more than five hours. 

As of noon on Sunday, the police were still searching for the man who was last seen wearing a pink turban, blue jacket and long brown pants.

Recounting the incident which took place at about 4.30pm, Ms Yeah said the robber wielded a knife and what appeared to be a replica gun and told her counter staff member who is in his 40s: “Give me money! Money!”

But her staff member – shielded by a security metal grille and laminated tampered glass – replied: “No money.”

The robber then appeared to be “at a loss of what to do (before) he threatened that he has a bomb. He was very, very nervous, so he just fled (empty-handed),” said Ms Yeah.

She added that unbeknownst to the robber, the shop’s advanced security system allowed security and the police to be alerted while he was still in the pawnshop, and digital technology also enabled it to promptly provide the police with closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

While the incident was unfolding, ValueMax staff had sounded an alarm to a security monitoring station manned by crew from security solutions provider Ademco which could see the CCTV footage live on their mobile phones or workstations, and alert the police.

Following the incident, specific CCTV footage was sent to the authorities “within a short timeframe”, said Ms Yeah.

All 32 ValueMax pawnshops are equipped with these security features, she added.

Lauding her staff member as “calm, quick-thinking and brave”, Ms Yeah noted that he even tried to give chase to the robber himself, but the suspect was already nowhere to be seen.

That employee resumed work on Sunday.

The company has not allowed him to speak to the media and directed all queries to Ms Yeah instead.

“He was very surprised that the police even blocked off the entire area. He thought it was just a small issue,” said Ms Yeah.

On Saturday, the affected ValueMax staff members emerged from the store only between 9pm and 10pm, when the police cordon tapes came down. They declined to speak to reporters then.

The police are appealing for information to aid in their investigations, and have asked anyone with details to call the police hotline on 1800 255 0000 or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.