A shopping trip to Johor turned into a nightmare for an elderly Singaporean couple when someone snatched the husband’s bag right from his trolley.
The thief walked away with his passport, iPhone, credit card, and cash. The couple, both in their 80s, had to extend their stay in Malaysia and rush to get replacement documents.
The theft happened in broad daylight
Around 5pm on 7 Dec 2025, the couple was shopping at a mall in Skudai, Johor, according to Sinchew. They’d just attended a lunch gathering with the National Taiwan University alumni association in Malaysia.
After the event ended, the husband—a man surnamed Lin—and his wife headed to the mall.
CCTV footage caught everything. Lin’s wife walked ahead while he pulled the shopping trolley. A man in a white cap crept up from behind, crouched down, and reached into the trolley. He grabbed a black bag, tucked it behind his own plastic bag, and walked off.
The couple only realized something was wrong when Lin’s wife tried to pay at the checkout. By then, the thief had disappeared.
Lin later watched the security footage and remembered feeling like someone was following too closely while they shopped.
The scramble to recover and replace
Lin called his daughter in Singapore immediately to cancel his credit cards. The family tried using the “Find My iPhone” app to track the stolen bag, but the location data was too vague.
Yang, the alumni association secretary, went with Lin to file a police report. Five or six alumni members searched the mall—checking washrooms and every corner they could think of. They found nothing.
Without Lin’s passport, the couple couldn’t go home that day. They stayed another night in Johor and visited the Consulate-General of Singapore the next morning to apply for a replacement travel document.
Lin’s son drove up to Johor after hearing what happened. In the early hours of 8 Dec 2025, he found the stolen iPhone in a shopping mall garbage bin.
A mall security guard told Yang and the family that CCTV cameras had captured the suspect getting into a car with Lin’s bag.
The family is waiting for police updates.
