Man caught on CCTV breaking into Raffles Place cafe & stealing S$368 in broad daylight

A man was seen allegedly breaking into a cafe in Singapore over the weekend, prying open the cash register, and making off with a few hundred dollars in cash.

The incident was captured on the shop's closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the theft occurred at around 9am on Feb. 7 at the Local Coffee People cafe inside CIMB Plaza in Raffles Place.

Cafe closed over the weekend

A spokesperson for the cafe, surnamed Huang (transliteration), told Shin Min that the outlet is closed on weekends, which may have allowed the suspect to take advantage of the situation.

The incident only came to light on Feb. 9 morning, when staff discovered signs of a forced entry as they prepared to open the store.

Upon checking the cash register, they found that the cash was missing and immediately alerted the management.

CCTV footage showed a man, who was wearing a baseball cap and carrying a backpack, approaching the counter.

After checking his surroundings, he went behind the counter and tampered with the cash register before prying it open and removing the cash.

"He then stuffed the cash into his backpack while still keeping an eye on his surroundings," Huang said.

The suspect was later seen entering the back area of the cafe and attempting to pry open other cabinets with a tool, but left after failing to do so.

According to Huang, a total of S$368 in cash was stolen, and the lock on the cash register was damaged.

He added that the outlet has been operating at CIMB Plaza for about seven to eight years and this was the first time they had encountered such an incident.

He has since lodged a report with the police.

"We did not expect a theft to occur in broad daylight," he said, adding that they provided the CCTV footage to alert other businesses to remain vigilant.

In response to Mothership's queries, police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Following the incident, Huang said the cafe will no longer leave cash in the registers and will instead store them in safes to prevent similar cases from happening in the future.

Top photos from Shin Min Daily News