Man asks to see iPhone 17 Pro Max at Hougang phone store, snatches it & escapes

A man went to a mobile phone store in Hougang, posing as a customer who wanted to take a look at an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

However, he simply snatched the phone and ran away.

Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reported that the employees attempted to give chase, but were unsuccessful in apprehending him.

Immediately gave chase

The incident occurred on Oct. 20, around 1pm at Block 811 Hougang Central.

One of the store's employees named Jiang Jin Qi (transliterated), who was working at the time of the incident, claimed that the young man asked to see the iPhone, but only took a cursory look before suddenly grabbing it and running away.

Jiang employee immediately gave chase but could not track him down, and went back to the store to enlist other co-workers to assist him.

He told Shin Min that three of them searched the area for 15 minutes till they were "out of breath", but were still unable to locate him.

They made a police report afterwards.

Identity concealed

According to the employee, the man, dressed in white, appeared to be in his twenties and had tattoos on his left arm.

He wore a helmet with a reflective visor, which helped to conceal his identity, suggesting that the crime was premeditated.

Shin Min noted that the store had more than 10 CCTV cameras, in addition to other police surveillance cameras nearby, which ultimately did not deter him from committing the crime.

The stolen iPhone was worth nearly S$2,000, which the employee fears they will never recover.

A shaken Jiang added that it was the first time such an incident had happened in his five years of running the shop, prompting him to be more careful and keep an eye on a customer's "every move".

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed that a report had been lodged regarding the incident.

Investigations are ongoing.