Taiwanese tourist claims $3,000 stolen from room at Village Hotel Sentosa

A Taiwanese national visiting Singapore has alleged that $3,000 was stolen from his room at Village Hotel Sentosa on Oct 17.

In a Threads post on the same day, @yang.house.tw says that he checked into the hotel on Oct 16 and left the cash in a plastic money pouch from Marina Bay Sands on the table before heading out to Universal Studios.

It is unclear when he returned and at what time the money was taken from the room, but the man claims that it was stolen by a young Chinese female housekeeper, the day after he checked in.

He adds that he felt helpless when the hotel manager said it was impossible that the staff would steal the money and directed him to search the rubbish bins, which he says he did until the police arrived.

Yang.house.tw claims that after a search, the police found the pouch on the woman, and that she denied any involvement.

He says that he spoke to the police for five hours, but the money has not been returned to him and that the hotel has made no attempt to compensate him.

"Exercise caution when visiting Singapore; hotel staff may steal money," says the man in the post, which was written in Chinese. "This has completely altered my perception of Singapore's reputation for safety. This is the first time I've been robbed in a high-end overseas hotel."

The post had received 2,300 reactions and 242 reactions at press time.

While netizens hoped yang.house.tw would get his money back, many felt he should have been more careful with his cash and placed it in the safe.

"Money should always be kept secure. Hotels provide safes; don't test people's limits. This applies everywhere - it's better for both yourself and others," said one Threads user.

Another was less symoathetic. "You gave them the opportunity to strike," said the commenter, to which the man said was victim-blaming.

One user said: "Singapore's good security doesn't mean there's no crime. You were careless - who else can you blame?"

To which yang.house.tw replied: "True, I'm not generalising about all of Singapore,
but this one incident should serve as a warning to tourists."

In response to The New Paper's queries, the police said it received a call for assistance at 10 Artillery Avenue on Oct 17 at 1.35pm.

"A 34-year-old woman is currently assisting with investigations for the offence of theft in dwelling. Police investigations are ongoing."

TNP has contacted Village Hotel Sentosa for comment.