A man was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) stealing a power-assisted bicycle and its charger outside a Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat in Toa Payoh.

The footage, shared on TikTok by user @foodpandax3 on Dec. 2, has since gone viral, accumulating over 183,000 views.

@foodpandax3 Just another ricebowl got stolen at TPY Blk 122 today at 1.20am 02/12/2023. 😭 Please help owner of the SR2 bluetag to keep a lookout at south areas. Bro forget to check at the camera located directly above. 😶‍🌫️🩵🐳 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #foodpanda #foodpandarider #foodpandadelivery #fooddeliveryrider #fooddelivery #toprider #ebike ♬ original sound - LJ MUSIC

Stole bike outside a flat

In the video, a man can be seen pacing back and forth outside the flat.

He peeks at the e-bike and touches the handlebars before moving away.

He came back a few seconds later and walked past the house a couple of times before peering into it as if making sure that the coast was clear.

Subsequently, he moved the e-bike slightly forward, took its charger and walked away.

The letters "SCDF" on the back of his shirt are visible in the video when he bends down to grab the charger.

In just a matter of seconds, he returned and took the bike away.

Discovered the bike missing and posted online

Speaking to Mothership, the owner of the e-bike shared that he noticed the e-bike was stolen when he left his house at 1:45am.

The CCTV footage showed that the theft happened at 1:20am on Dec. 2, 2023.

The owner, who is a food delivery rider, then shared the incident on his Instagram page, as well as amongst rider group chats on WhatsApp and Telegram. He also made a police report.

His friend then helped to share on his TikTok account, @foodpandax3.

'Looks like me. But not me.': Man told owner

On the same night, a person reached out to the owner, claiming to be not the person in the video.

However, according to chat screenshots seen by Mothership, the person wanted the owner to take down the video.

When the owner asked if he was the person in the video, he replied, in exact words, "Look like me. But not me."

He also claimed that he was with his girlfriend at the time of the incident.

"I already suspected he was the culprit, so I played along," he said.

Person says 'thief' is not him but 'someone he knows from Yishun'

The "misidentified person" then said he knew who the "real thief" was and insisted the owner take down the video.

His message read, in exact words, "Bro it not me why you post me?"

The owner then asked the "misidentified person" if the "real thief" really was from Yishun, as claimed by some of the other people who reached out to him.

The "misidentified person" claimed that the "real thief" indeed was from Yishun.

The owner then told the "misidentified person" that he already made a police report and "things don't have to be ugly" if the "real thief" just returned the bike.

First claimed bike was sold off

The "misidentified person" then said the "real thief" had already sold off the bike and asked if he could pay back the owner with cash.

However, the owner wanted his bike back.

The "misidentified person then said the "real thief" needed a week to return the bike.

"** one week?" The owner remarked.

The "misidentified person" replied, in exact words, "He tries to get back your bike, if don't have you want to do anything to him also can."

Then claimed bike crashed in Mandai

Soon after, the "misidentified person" then told the owner that the "real thief" admitted that he crashed the bike and left it in the Mandai area.

The "misidentified person" also said that the bike was damaged.

Once he knew where the bike was, the owner immediately headed down to look for it, fearing that the e-bike would be dismantled and sold for parts.

The owner searched for the e-bike in the Mandai area for about 30 minutes before discovering his e-bike.

The owner, who relies on the e-bike for his food delivery job, has been unable to work since the theft.

While the "misidentified person" claimed that the "real thief" agreed to pay compensation, the owner said "they" refused to meet him.

SCDF checking if guy is from SCDF

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they are "aware of a CCTV footage posted on TikTok where a man wearing an SCDF t-shirt was seen taking a power-assisted bicycle that was parked outside a residential unit".

The SCDF confirms that they are working to verify if the person is an SCDF personnel.

Top photos via @foodpandax3/ Tiktok & Mothership reader