'Singapore has learned how to eliminate crime'? Tourist leaves laptop at Starbucks for 1 hour as a test

Singapore may have one of the lowest crime rates in the world, but low crime doesn't mean no crime, amirite?

One tourist, however, set out to prove how safe Singapore is, by leaving a laptop unattended for an hour at a random Starbucks outlet in Singapore.

His confidence in Singapore's safety record was rewarded, fortunately, when he returned to the cafe and found his laptop left intact and untouched.

US-based content creator Uptin Saiidi, who has more than 660,000 followers on TikTok and over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube posted the video on his TikTok channel on Monday (Oct 24).

@uptin

 

♬ original sound - Uptin

In the video, he leaves the laptop at the cafe, "not telling anyone to watch it", and goes out to grab lunch somewhere else.

Shared Uptin in the clip: "Singapore has pretty much learned how to eliminate crime," adding an impressive statistic that there were 250 days in a row last year where there were no "common types of crime".

"That means nobody got their phones stolen for more than eight months in the whole country."

Explaining the three big reasons for the low crime rate in Singapore, he stated that "honesty and fairness is a big part of the culture here" and that "basic needs are met", so "people don't feel like they need to resort to crime".

Adding a somewhat contentious point, he noted: "You will never see a homeless person here."

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The third reason he gave is "surveillance", as "there are cameras everywhere that protect against crime and the consequences of stealing are crazy high".

He highlighted a media report which stated how breaking into a house and stealing carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.

And then the moment of truth arrived, as Uptin walks into the Starbucks outlet to retrieve his laptop. "Sure enough, it's still there," he shared.

The video has since garnered 5.4 million views and counting along with over 4,000 comments from viewers around the globe.

Many of them expressed amazement at Uptin's "expensive" little experiment, comparing notes on what would have happened if they did that in their home country.

And boy, did they have stories to share:

Of where people can do one better than in Singapore, allegedly. 

And anecdotes that make one proud to be Singaporean:

However, several pointed out the inaccuracy that one cannot find any homeless people in Singapore.

As for the safety aspect, some argued that it would really depend on where one chooses to leave their laptop.

And once again, a reminder:

candicecai@asiaone.com