SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old woman, suspected to have stolen Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes in Toa Payoh, has been arrested, the police said.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Oct 14), the police said that the woman, who was not named, is believed to taken the vouchers left in the letterboxes at a residential block along Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.

In a separate police statement on the matter, it was said that a report was filed on Sunday and the police were able to nab the woman on the same day with the aid of images from police cameras. 

The grocery vouchers, announced in the Unity Budget in February, were mailed to 150,000 Singaporeans to help with their household expenses.

Singaporeans aged 21 and above this year who live in one-room and two-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, and do not own more than one property, are eligible.

The Ministry of Finance said last Saturday that recipients will get S$150 worth of grocery vouchers in October and another S$150 in December. Eligible Singaporeans will get one more round of aid, with S$100 worth of grocery vouchers to be given in October next year.

The police said on Wednesday that it has also received reports of similar incidents in other residential areas and are investigating these cases.

Singapore Post (SingPost) said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that a number of letterboxes located around Redhill had been pried open earlier that day.

They were located at:

• Blocks 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59, Lengkok Bahru

• Blocks 71 and 72, Redhill Road

• Blocks 89 and 90, Redhill Close

The postal service added that an emergency response crew was immediately dispatched to these locations, and crew members found the doors of some letterboxes had been left ajar.

They also found that while all nine letterbox nests were locked and secure, closer inspection uncovered scratches, dents and other signs of tampering on the open letterboxes.

SingPost said that based on internal checks, it estimated that the likely acts of vandalism and theft might have taken place after postal workers left the area at 1pm on Monday. SingPost did not specify what was stolen.

It is not clear if the woman suspected to be behind the thefts in Toa Payoh is related to the cases in Redhill.

In any event, she could face up to three years in jail, a fine or both if she is found guilty of theft.

The police recommend that members of the public who are eligible for the grocery vouchers should collect them as soon as possible, and to ensure that their letterbox is secured at all times.

Anyone who suspects that their vouchers have been stolen is also advised to make a police report immediately and call the grocery voucher hotline at 1800-2222-888 to ask for the vouchers to be voided and replaced. Voided vouchers cannot be redeemed.