When something happens, they think of TNP
Reader alerts TNP after spotting man looking like bank robber in CCTV footage
From tipping us off about a bank robbery suspect to being thrown out of a taxi by its driver, readers of The New Paper know who they should call when they come across something newsworthy.
When the Holland Village branch of Standard Chartered was robbed on July 7, a suspect was identified after being detained in Thailand.
One of the directors of Baker & Cook, a cafe-bakery in Chip Bee Gardens, near Holland Village, reviewed closed-circuit television footage at his outlet several days later.
He was surprised that a man who looked like the suspect had been filmed in his cafe moments after the robbery.
He knew he had to inform TNP.
He said: "I read all the daily newspapers and TNP was the first to come to my mind when it came to having a hotline number."
The report was published last Thursday.
Another reader, Mr Shaun Van, 36, called the TNP hotline after his mother, Madam P. Tay, was allegedly dumped on the roadside by a Trans-Cab taxi driver.
Madam Tay, who is in her 60s, was returning home from a one-day durian tour in Johor Baru with her friends on July 9 around 11pm.
She hailed the taxi at Chinese Garden MRT station's taxi stand.
Midway through the journey, the driver grew agitated and repeatedly told her to get out of his taxi.
In the report, which was published last Wednesday, Madam Tay claimed the taxi driver stopped the cab along Yung Ho Road, dragged her out of her seat by her arm and threw her belongings out of the vehicle.
Mr Van, who works in the information technology industry, said: "I was frustrated because I tried calling the company, but they weren't helpful.
"So I called TNP to bring attention to the story."
A security officer, 32, who declined to be named, tipped TNP off for the first time when he saw an ambulance near the F1 pit building at around 11pm on Wednesday night.
In the report, which was published on Thursday, he said that he saw officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force retrieve a body from the river.
A loyal TNP reader, he had been following TNP's report on the bumboat that caught fire on Tuesday.
It turned out to be the body of the missing boatman.
He said: "I like reading TNP because they have interesting stories -it's my type of paper."
RATS
A rat problem at the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) made another hotline caller contact TNP.
IT manager Kelvin Yeo, 37, was having lunch at one of the foodcourts on level two at MBFC Tower 3 when a rat fell from the ceiling.
He said his mind was put at ease a little after finding out from TNP's report that NTUC Foodfare appoints pest controllers to conduct inspections at their foodcourts fortnightly.
Mr Yeo, who reads TNP daily, said: "I've been back to the foodcourt once or twice, but I'm still trying to get over the incident."
For sharing their stories, each hotline caller will receive a $100 KFC voucher.
We value and appreciate your calls and e-mails, so keep them coming.
You can call us at 1800-733-4455, SMS or MMS 9477-8899 or e-mail us at tnp@sph.com.sg.
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