Durian vendor wrestles man who snatched $600 from elderly woman in Tampines

His day job may be selling durians, but that hasn't stopped this man from upholding justice.

A good Samaritan subdued a man who allegedly robbed an elderly woman of $600 in Tampines on Wednesday (July 5), Shin Min Daily News reported. 

The incident took place near a POSB ATM at Block 827, Tampines Street 81, after the woman withdrew cash from the machine.

The suspect snatched the money, making her cry out for help.

Speaking to Shin Min on Thursday, employees at a nearby provision shop recalled that durian vendor Huang Bowei, 35, had provided assistance.

"I heard a woman screaming, then the employee of a provision shop rushed over to our fruit store to ask for help, saying that a man had robbed an old woman of her money," Huang said.

Huang immediately rushed out of the store and confronted the suspect who was "quite thin", grabbing the latter from behind and putting him in a chokehold. 

The alleged robber was then quickly restrained.

"Fortunately, he handed over the money and it was returned to the elderly woman," Huang told the Chinese daily.

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The police confirmed that they received a report at around 9.45pm that night and arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with the case.

While acts done out of kindness most likely deserve praise, the ends don't always justify the means.

In September last year, a passer-by reportedly took the law into his own hands and tried to subdue an alleged robber.

However, he might have taken things too far as video footage showed him taunting the suspect and manhandling him, grabbing his hooded jacket and throwing him into a nearby bush.

"You just sit down and don't run, you aren't sick so don't cheat people," the self-made hero warned the suspect.

Some netizens felt his treatment of the purported robber was too harsh, saying that the man should have called the police.

"Now [the passer-by] will get assault charges instead," a netizen said.

khooyihang@asiaone.com