Toa Payoh coffee shop staff caught stealing S$4,300 from stall, begs owner for forgiveness, runs away the next day

When his chef failed to turn up for work on Aug. 27, coffee shop stall owner Tony (transliteration) went to his home to look for him.

There, Tony found several bags that the stall used to store money, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The chef, surnamed Chen (transliteration), eventually admitted to stealing about S$4,300 in stall revenue.

Stole from stall

Tony, who owns three stores, went looking for Chen after the latter failed to appear at work at his Kim Keat Avenue outlet.

When Chen answered the door, Tony noticed several bags the stall used to store money on the table.

Chen eventually confessed to taking the stall's money.

He had allegedly used a stolen key to enter the stall and later deleted the CCTV footage, Shin Min reported.

He apparently knelt before Tony when he was caught, crying and promising to write a letter of repentance.

Although angry, Tony decided to give himself time to think and left.

Fled

The next day, a female employee received a message from Chen saying he had fled and that everyone should stop looking for him.

Tony made a police report at about 4pm.

Police confirmed receiving the report and said investigations are ongoing.

Tony said Chen had worked for him for 10 years and earned about S$4,400 a month, including room and board.

He had also lent Chen S$40,000 to buy a house, helped him settle more than S$10,000 in loan shark debts, and recently given him salary and bonus advances totalling S$70,000.

Previous thefts

Tony said this was not the first time Chen had stolen from him.

In 2019, Chen was caught stealing S$260, while in June this year, he allegedly stole another S$3,600.

On both occasions, Chen wrote letters of repentance and was forgiven because of his good work attitude.

Tony said he trusted Chen completely after years of working together and ignored others' advice to be more vigilant.

Tony said he had also been travelling overseas and had not collected the stall's revenue since mid-August.

He added that Chen had borrowed money from several licensed lenders, who are now contacting him over the debts.

Tony believes Chen may have fled to Vietnam, where he has a girlfriend and a one-year-old child, as Chen had travelled there several times over the past year.