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

They did it for a laugh, but what a group of rowdy boys thought was a harmless prank could have greater consequences on their victims.

That was the gist of what Tampines MP Baey Yam Keng said in his Instagram post on Monday (Aug 2).

He was referring to an Instagram video where five boys were caught on camera stealing slippers from someone's front door. 

According to the Instagram post, the incident happened at Block 499C, Tampines Ave 9 in the wee hours of July 31.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CSDxEyCpsm5/[/embed]

In the clip. the five youths can be seen slowly walking by a flat. Once they got close enough, two of them bent down and each grabbed a sandal placed outside the gate.

Another boy also managed to grab a slipper, making it a total of three items stolen.

One of them also appeared to be recording the act on his mobile phone.

The video clip, which has been viewed 58,000 times, even got Baey's attention.

“Block 499C is a rental block where HDB helps lower-income families to have a roof over their heads," he said in a comment.

Baey also appealed to people not to play such pranks, saying: "It is not funny when lower-income families have to spend more money so that you can have a good laugh," he added.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the victim is a 47-year old delivery driver who lost a pair of sandals and one slipper.

This was not the first time the man had been pranked.

He mentioned that it has happened about 10 times over the past year, with two of his jackets also being stolen.

As he only makes $1,300 a month, the man is struggling to buy replacements for the lost items.

A police report has since been made and investigations are ongoing. 

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amierul@asiaone.com