'Who wears a Rolex on vacation?' Singaporean roasted after posting video of $20k watch stolen in Phuket

A Singaporean's recent vacation in Phuket turned into a nightmare after burglars made off with cash and a Rolex watch worth $20,000 – all while his whole family was inside the rented villa.

Richard Ter, 34, told AsiaOne on Thursday (Feb 2) that the incident happened on the last day (Jan 29) of his week-long holiday.

He was in Phuket with a family of eight, including a 13-month-old baby and his seven-year-old son. 

The perpetrators were not identified, but Ter suspected that a pair of housekeepers could be involved in the burglary.

A staff would drop by from 10am to 4pm every day to clean the seven-bedroom apartment, he said. 

Ter added: "On the last day, she appeared earlier than usual and called in another housekeeper without informing us.

"From what we saw, both of them walked around the villa without doing any cleaning. They went back earlier at around 12pm."

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@richieter/video/7195050756670639362?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7161994054723814913[/embed]

Some valuables left behind

After the housekeepers' actions had aroused his suspicions, Ter shared that he realised that two bags in the villa were missing.

The worried man then called the housekeepers and the villa owner, only to be told by the latter that 'he's not coming down on a Sunday'.

The housekeeper eventually returned to the villa, but Ter said that his family found the bags scattered outside five minutes later.

Some $20,300 worth of valuables, including cash and a Rolex watch, was stolen, the man shared, adding that the family's credit cards, luxury hand bags and wallets were left behind.

Adding that the housekeeper had protested her innocence when confronted, Ter said: "We were not alert and lost some of our belongings.

"I wonder what could have happened if one of us, especially my child, walked around the villa alone and saw the crime happening".

'Why wear Rolex there?' 

In a TikTok video shared on Wednesday (Feb 1), Ter showed the aftermath of the break-in - smashed glass doors, opened windows and valuables strewn across the floor.

Police officers were also seen conducting their investigations in the villa.

In the comments, netizens questioned why Ter would risk bringing a luxury watch overseas.

"Who wears a Rolex on vacation?" one of them said, while another pointed out that the opportunist burglars might have targeted the family before swooping in.

Several netizens also said that at least the burglars had spared the family some of their valuables.

Responding to the reactions from netizens, Ter shared that he had expected "these kinds of comments" before posting the video online. 

"I hope my video will allow others to think twice before bringing their valuables overseas," he said. 

Bali villa burgled by 'ladyboy'

In another recent incident of Singaporeans who fell victim to break-ins while on holiday, a couple honeymooning in Bali last August found their villa burgled by a 'ladyboy'.

Speaking to AsiaOne then, Fatin Kamari shared that her privacy was intruded by an uninvited guest while she and her husband were fast asleep.

"We brought some utensils from the kitchen to the bedroom to defend ourselves in case the culprit came back again," the woman said.

The culprit was later caught and the valuables stolen were recovered, according to Fatin.

ALSO READ: Luggage stolen from Singaporean tour group in Italy, including $15k worth of new designer goods

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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