Man, 46, arrested & found with signal transmitter after attempting to open Tesla car door at Marina Bay car park

A 46-year-old man was arrested at a Marina Bay open-air car park after he was caught on camera attempting to open the door of a Tesla.

The car's owner found out about the man's suspicious behaviour after the Tesla's sentry mode cameras and sensors picked up on his attempt.

The man was found with a signal transmitter device.

Alert received on phone

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the car owner, Zhang Yi Li (transliteration), 39, and her husband and friends were visiting food and music festival GastroBeats, held at Bayfront Event Space, at about 7pm on Jun. 13.

They parked their Tesla at an open-air car park.

Zhang told Zaobao that her Tesla's "sentry mode" was activated at the time.

Tesla's "sentry mode" keeps the vehicle's cameras and sensors powered and ready to record if suspicious activity is detected around the vehicle.

Zhang said she received an alert on her phone that someone had tried to open the car door at around 7:23pm.

"At the start, I assumed someone had got the wrong car. I wasn't too worried as this has happened before," Zhang told Zaobao.

However, out of caution, Zhang decided to head to the car park to make sure.

Man loitered at car park

She then reviewed the car's camera recordings and saw that a man had loitered around her car and attempted to open the door.

Based on the recordings, the man had spent about 45 minutes going back and forth beside the car, Zaobao wrote.

"He continued loitering around the area for 10 minutes after I reached the car park. He kept looking at my vehicle, and he came and went multiple times," Zhang recalled.

She alerted the police after suspecting that the man was targeting unlocked cars.

The police arrived about 10 minutes later.

The man attempted to flee, but was eventually arrested, Zaobao wrote.

Signal transmitter found on man

Responding to media queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it received a call for assistance at 11 Marina Boulevard and that a 46-year-old man was arrested for attempted theft.

Police investigations are ongoing.

"The police later told me that they found a signal transmitter on the man, but did not share more details," Zhang said.

Zhang suspects that the man had hidden the device in his cross-body bag and used it to interfere with the car's receivers to prevent the car doors from locking.

She also suspects that she was targeted as there were a few bags placed in the car's rear passenger seats.

Zhang told Zaobao that she did not expect such an incident to happen at a crowded public area.

"Even in a safe place like Singapore, we shouldn't let down our guard completely," Zhang remarked.

She said that she decided to check on her car when she received the alert as she had been robbed in Singapore in the past.