Chinese tourist and two strangers chase down Gucci bag snatcher for two blocks in Singapore

Two strangers joined a Chinese tourist's chase through Singapore's Boat Quay and helped detain a man who had allegedly snatched her handbag holding S$8,000 (US$6,260) in cash. The Singapore Police Force told AsiaOne that officers received a call for assistance at 1 Circular Road at about 9:05 p.m. on Aug. 30 and arrested a 45-year-old man for theft. Investigations are ongoing and no charge has been announced.The 38-year-old businesswoman from Shanghai, identified only by her surname, Wan, told Shin Min Daily News she landed in Singapore late on Aug. 29 and checked into the Mercure ICON Singapore City Center on Club Street.Around 6:30 p.m. the next day, she was shopping near People's Park Complex in Chinatown when a middle-aged man approached her.He spoke fluent Mandarin, said he was from Taiwan and claimed to have lived in Singapore for years, which she said put her at ease.When she mentioned she was looking for a bank to change money and was unhappy with her hotel, he offered to help with both.She went back for her belongings and met him again at 7:30 p.m., and he took her to a shop that appeared to sell mobile phones and that he said belonged to a friend.There she handed over 44,000 yuan ($6,550) for S$8,000 at a quoted rate of one Singapore dollar to 5.5 yuan.The man then said he would take her to Boat Quay and on to Marina Bay Sands to look at a new hotel, telling her both were close by.When the walk dragged on and she suggested taking a car, he said he knew a shortcut that would get them there in 10 minutes. That was when she began to suspect something was wrong, she told Shin Min.Wan said the detour kept her moving for more than an hour and left her exhausted.The direct route from People's Park Complex to Circular Road runs under a kilometer, roughly a 15-minute walk.At Circular Road she said she would go no further. The man suggested a nearby bar, and when she refused, he grabbed the bag and ran.Wan chased him into a back alley, shouting "Help! Robbery!" according to Malaysia's Oriental Daily News.The bag alone was worth more than S$5,000 ($3,910), she said, and she had bought it in Macau three to four months earlier. Gucci products are displayed in the window of a store on Old Bond Street in London, Britain, June 2, 2016. Photo by Reuters A male passerby heard her after about two blocks and joined the chase, followed by a second man she described as Indian who had seen what was happening.The two caught up with the suspect and brought him back while other bystanders watched him and called police. Wan recovered her belongings at the scene.The man told officers he was Wan's friend and that taking the bag had been a joke, she told Shin Min.She said she had been gasping for breath and shouting for help while he ran nearly out of sight.Theft under Singapore's Penal Code carries up to three years in prison, a fine or both.Snatch theft, which covers using criminal force to take property carried on a person, carries a minimum of one year, a maximum of seven, and caning. Police described the Aug. 30 arrest as being for theft.Wan said she had traveled alone to Thailand, Macau and Vietnam before without incident, which was why she had let her guard down this time.She changed hotels afterward and did not want to go out again, though she later tracked down the two men who had helped her and took them for a meal and coffee at a mall near her new hotel.