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A Singaporean woman spent a year growing 15 star fruits in a community garden at Punggol Park — only to have all but three stolen away by a thief when they were due for harvest.

A year of effort down the drain

The tree owner, Wang (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that she planted the star fruit tree in the community garden at the junction of Hougang Avenue 8 and Avenue 10 around March last year.

She said her star fruits were finally ripe for the picking soon, and she was counting her star fruits on Apr 4, 2023.

The next day, she found 12 star fruits missing.

CCTV shows thief wearing helmet and face mask

Wang immediately went to the authorities for help, who told her they checked the CCTV footage and suspected the star fruits were stolen by a person wearing a helmet and mask.

She wasn’t the only one with her fruits stolen — other gardeners lost their bitter gourds and celeries.

It was devastating for the various gardeners to have their time and hard work trampled upon by thieves.

People think its "free to pick"

Theft in their community garden is a common occurrence.

People often wander in thinking everything is “free to pick”, even though signage warns people not to do so.

Wang said she once saw someone carrying pails and bags all prepared to ransack the garden, and when she tried to stop him, he even declared that he was the “garden owner”.

Gardeners tried various methods to stop thieves

The gardeners tried various methods to prevent thieves from eyeing their crops, such as covering their gardening area with a “lock box”.

Wang didn’t go to such extremes but instead used a bag to cover her star fruits so people couldn’t tell if the star fruits were ripe.

Her efforts are for nought, and she hopes authorities can help them change the situation.

“These people are too brazen, but there’s nothing we can do,” she said in defeat.

Top image via Pixabay & Shin Min Daily News