A distraught sales promoter in Jurong West attempted to self-harm after reportedly losing S$2,000 to a pickpocket on Apr. 20 (Saturday).

Passersby near the woman's stall at Block 504 Jurong West Street 51 intervened by disarming her and calling an ambulance to take her to hospital.

Police told Mothership that they were alerted to the theft at around 10:30am.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also confirmed with Mothership that they received a call for assistance at around 12:05pm.

One person was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

Stall assistant in distress after being pickpocketed

According to Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min), the incident happened at a stall selling fruit juice machines, which had been set up in front of a provision shop at Block 504.

Eyewitnesses saw a female sales promoter in her 20s squatting on the ground, covering her face with her hands and crying bitterly.

Suddenly, she picked up a fruit knife from the table at the stall and slit her hand.

This shocked passersby, who rushed forward to snatch the knife from her.

One of them was a 55-year-old man, surnamed Zhuo (transliteration from Mandarin), who told Shin Min that he heard the woman was a stall assistant from Malaysia.

He also heard that the money she lost amounted to a week's worth of proceeds for the stall, and some of her own money.

"When I saw her try to cut herself, I immediately stopped her and called an ambulance to prevent her from doing something so foolish like that again", Zhuo said.

Some members of the public tried to dissuade the woman that it wasn't worth it to take her life just because of the money lost.

Others reassured her that she wasn't the one in the wrong.

As the passersby were attending to her, the woman made another attempt to grab the knife.

This prompted the people around her to throw the knife aside and contact her boss.

Shin Min reported that the stall owner was also alerted to the case at around 12pm, and came down to pack up the stall.

He reportedly refused an interview, citing that he was busy.

How she got pickpocketed

A passerby, Lin Kunyao (transliteration), 37, told Shin Min that he heard the alleged pickpocket was a man who had squatted beside the promoter's booth and pretended to tie his shoelaces.

And when she wasn't paying attention, the man allegedly stole S$2,000 from her bag, Lin claimed.

"By the time she realised, he was already some distance away, so she called the police immediately," he said.

Lin added that the police later came down to the scene to check surveillance camera footage in the area.

Police confirmed with Mothership that investigations are ongoing.

Not the first time

A 76-year-old resident surnamed Chen (transliteration) told Shin Min that she lost S$500 to pickpockets when shopping at a nearby market two months ago.

She claimed that she was browsing at a stall there when she encountered three middle-aged ladies, one of whom came "very close" to her.

Chen said she had brushed it off in the moment but later noticed S$500 was missing from her bag.

A Chinese medicine store owner interviewed by Shin Min also claimed that a ginseng antler worth S$700 was stolen from his shop a number of years ago.

Following the incident, he reminded his employees to keep a watchful eye on the goods and installed CCTV cameras.

Shin Min reported that there were at least five surveillance cameras installed in the vicinity, along with a police advisory warning the public to be careful of pickpockets.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News