Man, 77, allegedly steals money from donation bowl at S'pore temple, bows to statue before leaving

An elderly man allegedly took money from a donation bowl placed in front of a deity statue at a temple in Changi.

Shin Min noted that he then bowed to the statue, apparently asking for forgiveness, before walking off.

The incident took place at about 1pm on Aug. 28 at Hoon Sian Keng Temple at 82 Changi Road, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Nobody noticed at the time

The temple's chairman, Chen Jingliang (transliterated), 34, said three staff were present at the time of the incident.

Two caretakers were tidying up around the main altar, while the secretary was handling administrative work in the office.

None of them noticed what the man was doing.

CCTV footage showed the elderly man approaching the statue, reaching into the bowl and taking the money.

He then bowed before the statue, apparently asking for forgiveness, before leaving.

The whole thing took less than five minutes.

He may have recced the place beforehand

Chen said the temple had not seen the man before.

But after watching the footage, he suspects the man had been there to recce the place, given how fast he moved and how well he seemed to know his way around.

It was not one of the donation boxes

Chen explained that the temple has four donation boxes, but the man took from the bowl in front of the statue instead.

He said: "Devotees usually put in coins or notes after making a wish. We usually clear the money out of the bowl at the end of the day and transfer it into the donation boxes."

About S$200 taken

The temple estimates it lost about S$200.

Chen said: “The amount isn't large, but we hope to raise awareness by making this public.”

Chen added that whatever difficulties someone might be facing, taking money from a temple like this is wrong.

Police investigating

In response to Mothership's queries, the police said they received a call for assistance at 82 Changi Road at about 2:20pm on Aug. 28.

A 77-year-old man is assisting with investigations, which are ongoing.