Woodlands delivery riders keep finding e-bikes & goods disappearing

Delivery riders working in the Woodlands area claimed that in the recent month or so, they have been finding their delivery goods and electric bicycles "disappearing".

To cope with the situation, they have reminded fellow riders to lock up their belongings if they are away from their rides while in the area.

According to a tip-off to Shin Min Daily News, a delivery rider alleged that the "disappearances" were all committed by a youth, believed to be around 14 years old.

A Shin Min reporter managed to contact the youth's mother and found out that she is a single parent taking care of two special needs children.

What delivery riders say

Delivery riders told Shin Min that the youth they believed was taking their deliveries appeared in the Causeway Point area and the nearby bus interchange.

They claimed he apparently rode their e-bikes away.

If the e-bikes were locked, he allegedly took the deliveries.

According to 44-year-old Zheng (transliteration), he knew of at least six occasions when riders' e-bikes were taken away — but they all managed to get them back.

Another rider, 29-year-old Xu (transliteration), said he saw the youth with a special needs identification card around his neck.

Riders reported that the police had helped them retrieve their e-bikes, and the delivery platforms usually did not penalise them for the missing deliveries after being notified of the situation.

Regardless, some said they have reminded peers to lock up their delivery bags when they were in the area and to keep a lookout.

Youth's mother said she appealed for help

The youth's mother told Shin Min she was married to a Singaporean man, but they divorced two years ago.

She said she works as a cleaner and has to take care of two children.

Both of them have special needs.

She said her older child, who is 24 years old, stays in a support centre.

However, her younger child, who used to be studying at a special needs school, recently refused to attend school, and she said there was nothing much she could do.

She said that if she locked him up at home, he would throw things around, so she has no choice but to let him roam.

"I work as a cleaner. I have no time to look after him. Sometimes, I also had to go out to look for him when I returned at around 11pm and found that he was not home yet."

She said she had appealed to the authorities for help to admit him to a support centre.

"We do not want to see him punished but we all need help": Riders

A rider wrote to Mothership about the situation and said that while they might have gotten their e-bikes back with the police's help, it was still difficult and frustrating for them to have to deal with it every time.

"Most of us don’t earn much and can’t afford these repeated losses," he said.

"We’re wasting time guarding our bikes, chasing after him when he steals, and dealing with the disruption during our shifts."

He said they spend around half an hour of their time each time it happens.

He said:

"We, the riders, often work long hours without additional benefits like year-end bonuses, which is taking a toll on our livelihoods.

Many of us are now appealing for intervention from government agencies or social services to address the issue.

We don’t want to see him hurt or punished, but we need a solution that protects our livelihood and ensures he gets the help he needs.

We hope that by drawing attention to the matter, authorities will step in to provide more robust support for both the boy and the affected riders."

Top image via Shin Min Daily News