Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Bumbling Robber Fumbles At Heist


Yesterday at between 3:30pm and 4pm, a man disguised himself as a woman and attempted to rob a branch of United Overseas Bank at City Plaza.

His stubble gave him away as a man. Instead of joining the queue like everybody else did. He walked straight up to a counter and asked for money. He brought a parcel and claimed there was a bomb in it. He said if the teller didn’t give him the money, he would set off the bomb in the parcel with his handphone.

The security guard was already following right behind him when he entered the bank as he could tell that the robber was a man disguised as a woman. When the robber turned around to tell the guard not to interfere, the guard pounced on him and pinned him down with the help of the bank staff until the police arrived.

Bank robberies are rare in Singapore. But as the global recession deepens and its effects on Singapore become more evident and pronounced, would more people attempt to rob the bank?

Would they give in to the notion of “drastic times call for drastic measures?”

The crime rate of any given city in the world is always directly related to its unemployement rate. When unemployment rate is high, crime rate would be high too. When unemployment rate is low, police work is more often than not, a breeze.

19 Comments:

Blogger dilutedmagnetics said...

I never thought anyone would bother to rob a bank physically in Singapore nowadays - it's so old fashioned. It's easier to rob someone online lah. This guy is definitely nuts.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 10:35:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger seefei said...

this robber is a kuku fella!!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 2:25:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To LIS: Definitely nuts indeed :p

To Seefei: If he's looking to be fed, he can look forward to some prison food :p

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 5:52:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Lin said...

LOL i was thinking the same as LIS. & i thought no one would bother robbing in sg because of the strict punishments. =S tsk tsk tsk...

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 10:24:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger Lin said...

i mean strict laws n harsh punishments...lol

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 11:36:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger dilutedmagnetics said...

Another victim bound for the rotan lah. More naked a** whipping!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 1:13:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Lin said...

OUCH!! >.<
i've seen a video of someone getting their ass whipped...it ain't pretty!!
i cringe everytime the whip touches the butt cheek! =S

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 4:27:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To Lin: Some people still think their drastic times of being in financial dire straits calls them to adopt a drastic measure like robbing a bank without the necessary "gear" :p

i think in Malaysia, the punishment against bank robbers are pretty harsh too. But i guess it's easier to get away with robbery there since it's easier to get guns than it is to do so in Singapore :p

To LIS: Sounds terribly painful. But at least he doesn't have to go hungry becos he has no money to buy food since he'd be fed in prison :p

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 4:29:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To Lin: Some people still think their drastic times of being in financial dire straits calls them to adopt a drastic measure like robbing a bank without the necessary "gear" :p

i think in Malaysia, the punishment against bank robbers are pretty harsh too. But i guess it's easier to get away with robbery there since it's easier to get guns than it is to do so in Singapore :p

To LIS: Sounds terribly painful. But at least he doesn't have to go hungry becos he has no money to buy food since he'd be fed in prison :p

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 4:30:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Lin said...

hmmm...honestly i dunno about that. LOL but it's funny how my singaporean friend was so terrified to step into malaysia borders cause he was afraid he'd get robbed! XD & it's true that almost all malaysians would get robbed at least once in their lifetime...maybe not physically, but house being robbed la.

Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 7:01:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To Lin: i know the dangers of getting robbed in Malaysia are clear & present but somehow it doesn't deter Sinaporeans from flocking to Malaysia in droves for cheap and good food and shopping day in day out :p

Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 11:19:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger Lin said...

LOL that i know too =D

Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 5:43:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger JOEPSC said...

Hunger can move a person to do strange things.. even becoming a cannibal!

Friday, November 14, 2008 at 9:00:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Ming1881 said...

I mean what are the chances that the person would get away so easily in this high tech era. If he get away by running or with car then very easily can catch the person won't you said?

Definitely in desperation perhaps due to current economic downturn.

Friday, November 14, 2008 at 10:53:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To Joepsc: i think most of us would rather die of hunger than to resort to cannibalism :p

Desperate times call for drastic measures. So people will just go all the way to get out of their dire straits.

To Ming1881: It's hard to commit a bank robbery and get away in a car in Singapore where there are so many traffic lights. Police can quite easily catch up. Easier to do bank heist in places like America where there's so much space in abundance and so many countless places to hide.

Monday, November 17, 2008 at 2:41:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger HappySurfer said...

Robbery may be common in certain parts of Malaysia but the onus is really on the individual to be cautious and take steps not to fall prey to criminals.

Of late, KL had a few incidents of robbers blowing up ATMs and the most recent one was just a few days ago. They didn't get away. They left evidence that led them to being arrested. Definitely candidates for criminal courses. LOL!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 4:03:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To HS: Blowing up ATMs? Oh my goodness! Doesn't the money get damaged as well this way? :p

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 8:59:00 AM GMT+8  
Blogger HappySurfer said...

Apparently not, otherwise there wouldn't have been repeated incidents. Crooks are getting to be very creative, and daring, hor?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 6:18:00 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Mockingbird said...

To HS: Crooks & criminals in M'sia have indeed always been known to be creative and daring :p

Friday, November 28, 2008 at 11:13:00 AM GMT+8  

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