Hello police? Resident issues ultimatum to trio filmed stealing birds outside Sengkang flat

Upset that some thieves stole his father-in-law's birds, a man decided to give the culprits a chance to come clean — by issuing them an ultimatum online. 

Chua Cheng Da posted on Facebook last Saturday (Aug 27) exposing the three men who were caught stealing the birds. 

Attaching CCTV footage and some stills of the men, Chua wrote: "This person, along with two accomplices at the end of the corridor, stole my father-in-law's birds this morning [at] around 6:35am." 

Chua added that the men seemed to be aware of the CCTV outside the Compassvale Drive flat as they were "covering their faces" with what looks like a hoodie, but it did not deter them from nicking his father-in-law's pets.

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At the end of the caption, Chua said that the three of them "have til Aug 31 to return the birds" before he lodges a police report. 

Chua's video was also reposted on Sgfollowsall's Instagram page, where several netizens urged him to file a police report. 

"No need to wait till Aug 31. Just lodge a police report immediately if you even want to have [any] hope of getting [the birds] back," wrote one netizen. 

On the other hand, one netizen pointed out that it's illegal to hang birdcages outside one's HDB flat, while another remarked that doing so was "very inconsiderate and selfish".

Although one can legally own and keep pet birds in both HDB flats and private properties in Singapore, HDB has urged residents not to hang objects including bird cages and flower pots on the parapet walls of common corridors as they may potentially be killer litter.

AsiaOne has reached out to Chua for more information. 

Last July, a video of a boy stealing women's underwear from a corridor of a HDB flat in Woodlands went viral with some netizens poking fun at the boy. Others however remarked that the boy "needs help". 

Responding to such comments, Nur Batrisyia, the wife of the man who posted the video said then that they did so to "create awareness" about the incident.

She added that she was not responsible for those who were shaming the boy for his actions. 

ALSO READ: Not funny: Baey Yam Keng on video of boys stealing slippers from low-income family in Tampines

claudiatan@asiaone.com