Passers-by receive awards for helping to nab snatch thief, upskirter
Around midnight on Feb 2, Miss Rifaransi Hodjatzadeh and Mr Kunwar Sidhant Singh, both 23, were riding their e-scooters along Kallang Road when they heard someone screaming for help.
They looked across the road and saw an elderly man struggling with another man over a bag. Sensing the elderly man was being robbed, the couple chased the fleeing snatch thief and detained him with the help of another man.
They were among 11 people who received the Public Spiritedness Award from the police yesterday, for rendering assistance in five separate cases.
Miss Hodjatzadeh and Mr Sidhant were on their e-scooters while Mr Grant Smith McLeod, 27, was walking to a friend's home when he, too, heard the victim shouting for help.
The suspect ran after failing to snatch the victim's bag and Mr McLeod chased him along Kallang Road.
Meanwhile, Miss Hodjatzadeh and Mr Sidhant chased the snatch thief on their e-scooters to outflank him.
Mr McLeod tackled the snatch thief to the ground and he and Mr Sidhant subdued him.
Miss Hodjatzadeh told The New Paper: "Having travelled a lot, I know what it is like to feel alone and defenceless. I would feel guilty if I left him in the same situation."
The suspect was charged with snatch theft with common intention.
Another award recipient, business development manager Tan Chin Kwang Shawn, 35, was on an escalator at Raffles Place MRT station when he noticed a man pass by him with his phone camera facing upwards. He then saw the man place his phone under a woman's dress.
Mr Tan followed the man as he walked towards Republic Plaza. As the man entered the office building, Mr Tan confronted him and took his phone.
When the suspect tried to flee, Mr Tan grabbed onto his backpack and pinned him down until security guards arrived.
The awards were presented by Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Gregory Tan Siew Hin, the commander of Central Police Division.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
