$3,000 gone: Thieves make off with 200kg safe from Bedok temple

How did they do it? 

Some thieves recently stole a 200kg safe from the Seu Teck Sean Tong Yiang Sin Sia temple located along Bedok Ave 3, leaving the temple management puzzled about how they pulled off the heist. 

The temple's caretaker surnamed Yu told Shin Min Daily News that he noticed the missing safe when he arrived at 7am on Wednesday (July 12). 

"When the guards opened the door, we thought that the temple's management had taken the 200kg safe away to repaint it." 

However, he realised that his conjuncture was wrong, as several offering boxes in the temple appeared to be pried open too. 

The lock on the temple's side gate was also broken and tossed on the ground. 

Realising that someone had stolen from the temple, Yu called the police. 

Speaking to the Chinese daily about the theft, Yu said that the temple was currently undergoing renovation and upgrading works.

To make things more convenient for devotees, some of the statues were moved out into a makeshift tent.

"The two safes were also moved outside, we didn't think that someone would take it one of them away," said Yu. 

Yu told the Chinese daily that he estimates the temple's monetary losses to be from $3,000 to $5,000, which includes the contents inside the safe and money from the offering boxes. 

"Usually during Qing Ming or Seventh Month more people will come to the temple [and donate]; it's considered a 'dry period' now [in terms of donations]." 

Yu also believes that the heist was carried out by more than one person, due to the weight of the safe.

The thieves also left behind a broken trolley, believed to have been used to move the safe out of the temple. 

"The items on top of the trolley were thrown onto the floor, they even tried to use one of the trolleys that were tied down." 

Another trolley was also stolen from the temple.

He added that the people involved were also probably familiar with the temple's operations, as they chose to strike when they were carrying out renovations. 

Although there were no CCTVs in the temple for the past 41 years, Yu said that the management had intended to install them after renovations were complete. 

When police went to the temple to investigate, they found some marks on the walkway about 40m away from the temple, believed to be where the thieves transported the safe from the trolley to their vehicle.

Yu said that the police have asked for the records of vehicles which entered the nearby car park. 

The police told Shin Min that investigations are ongoing. 

AsiaOne has contacted the police for more information. 

READ ALSO: Police arrest chief priest of Sri Mariamman Temple for criminal breach of trust involving missing gold ornaments

claudiatan@asiaone.com