'Car window was smashed': Singapore family robbed of $25k worth of belongings in Italy

On the last day of their two-week Europe trip, a Singapore family of five had their luggage and valuables worth over $25,000 stolen from their rental car.

Victim Lin Caiting (transliteration), 44, told Shin Min Daily News that the incident occurred in Rome, Italy, on Dec 26.

Arriving at the Colosseum at about 3pm that day, Lin said they had parked the vehicle containing their five suitcases and four carriers in an open-air car park near the landmark.

"We left after touring the place for less than two hours and discovered the car window had been smashed," she recounted.

Items allegedly stolen from their car include three laptops, a branded bag, expensive clothing and gifts, all of which are worth over $25,000, said Lin.

Her husband's credit card had also been used to make eight transactions of about $50 each.

The woman explained that they had exercised caution throughout their trip by keeping their wallets inside their jackets and always holding onto their luggage.

As they had intended to head directly to the airport from the Colosseum to catch their 8pm flight home, they had not taken extra precautions against theft.

Subsequently, the family went to a nearby police station to lodge a report but were purportedly told that there was no one on duty.

Another two police stations allegedly said the same, and Lin's family only managed to lodge a report at the fourth station they visited, reported Shin Min.

"There were over 10 people at the police station waiting to lodge reports. Many had their cars broken into, and some had their luggage stolen from hotel rooms," said the woman.

While waiting for their turn, Lin learnt from the police that some thieves would toss their victims' personal documents and invaluable items outside the station.

Her husband and children returned to the Colosseum and searched its surroundings, thankfully finding a bag containing their passports left beside a bin about 3km away from the car park where the theft took place.

It was already 8.45pm by the time they finished filing the police report, and the family had missed their flight. They forked out nearly $10,000 on new flight tickets and left Italy for Singapore the following day.

Lin added that they had attempted to find their NRICs at secondhand markets and slums after lodging the police report but were unsuccessful.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com