Taiwanese tourist claims S$3,000 cash stolen by Sentosa hotel housekeeper, police investigations ongoing

*Update: We have updated the article with Village Hotel Sentosa's statement.*

A Taiwanese tourist accused a housekeeper at Village Hotel Sentosa of stealing S$3,000 in cash from his hotel room.

The money apparently went missing a day after he checked in.

In a post on Threads on Oct. 17 in Chinese, the tourist Chang Shuoyang shared that he checked into the hotel in the evening of Oct. 16 before heading to Universal Studios Singapore.

Cash left in plastic bag inside hotel room

Prior to leaving, he placed approximately S$3,000 in cash inside a plastic bag from Marina Bay Sands and left it on a white counter in the room.

He stated that the bag of cash was stolen the next day.

Told to search through garbage

Chang claimed that when he reported the missing money, hotel staff initially asked him to search through the hotel's garbage collection.

He added that the hotel's manager insisted that he trusted his staff and did not believe such an incident could occur.

Feeling "helpless", Chang said he continued to sift through the garbage till the police arrived.

Plastic bag in the housekeeper's locker

According to Chang, police later searched a housekeeper and her storage locker, where they allegedly found the same Marina Bay Sands plastic bag that Chang had kept his money in.

He said the hotel manager was "shocked", noting that the hotel would have no reason to possess a bag from another establishment.

Though the housekeeper denied taking the money, police later brought her in for questioning, he wrote.

He stated that he expected to have updates by noon the next day and would update his followers, adding that the hotel had not yet offered compensation.

"This has totally changed my image of Singapore as a safe place"

In his post, Chang described the experience as his first time being a victim of crime at a high-end hotel.

"This totally changed my image of Singapore as a safe place," he wrote, urging other travellers to be cautious when visiting Singapore.

Still no updates from the hotel

In an update posted on Oct. 18, Chang said that despite several calls to the hotel, he had yet to receive any compensation, apology or explanation.

Police confirm investigation

In response to Mothership's queries, police confirmed that they received a call for assistance at 10 Artillery Avenue (the address of Village Hotel Sentosa) at 1:35pm on Oct. 17.

They stated that a 34-year-old woman is currently assisting with investigations for the offence of theft in dwelling.

Investigations are ongoing.

Village Hotel Sentosa responds

In response to Mothership's queries, Village Hotel Sentosa confirmed that the guest had checked into the hotel on Oct. 16 at 12:48pm, and checked out the next day at 11:15am.

However, about an hour later on the day of check-out, the guest contacted the hotel and claimed to have left an envelope containing S$3,000 in his room.

The hotel then conducted a "comprehensive search of the room, its surrounding areas and [their] staff", and conducted a second search after the guest returned to the hotel after 1pm.

The alleged missing cash was found in neither of the searches.

A police report was then lodged.

Upon arriving, police conducted two searches, one at 2pm and another by senior investigating officers at 6:32pm.

Both searches yielded negative findings and investigations remain ongoing, they stated.

"Village Hotel Sentosa has been cooperating fully with the Singapore Police Force and remains in contact with the guest to offer support where needed."

Mothership has reached out to Chang for further comment.

Top photo via @yang.house.tw/Threads