He had set up his phone to film himself running.
Then he caught a man trying to grab his phone. When he confronted him, the alleged thief claimed he was trying to put the phone back.
Fitness coach Terence Ong posted a video of the incident on his Instagram. He told MS News the incident took place at about 7.30am at Punggol Park on (Dec 17) and that it was the first time such a thing had happened even though he's been filming his runs and workouts for some time.
He had strapped his phone to a lamp post and was walking down the footpath to film himself doing a run.
In the video, an unseen person grabs the phone from behind and appears to be trying to remove it.
A hand pulls away to reveal Mr Ong staring at the alleged thief with one hand on his hip.
"Uncle," the fitness coach calls out.
"No, I'm taking… I'm not taking," the alleged thief stammers. "I want to give… give back to people. I know I saw you."
He adds that he has his own phone, to which Mr Ong replies: "I know, then don't touch lah."
The "uncle" then tries to defuse the situation by complimenting Mr Ong: "I want to ask you, you got nice body, where you train?"
After the fitness coach tells him that he trains at the park every day, the alleged thief continues to defend himself and says: "No lah, I won't take one. I got phone."
The men argue over his excuses and the "uncle" leaves after again saying: "I thought people dropped."
Mr Ong counters that argument by saying that his phone had been hung up. But he allows the man to leave and continues his run.
In the caption to his post, the fitness coach advises everyone to "watch your belongings wherever you are".
But he seemed to see the funny side of the incident when he wrote: "If you get caught for stealing, remember to compliment first."
This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.
