Singapore Theft
I had my cross-body bag taken in Singapore. A slash-proof bag is no help when somebody takes your whole bag. it was a classic theft, I realised afterwards. Somebody, an old man, bumped me from the right. I looked behind and two tall younger men in conversation were marching away behind me. At the time I thought I must have left my bag on the bus. But I felt light as they lifted it. the image of the old man and the two passers-by remained in my memory and re-surfaced when I read about this distraction technique later.
Stay close together. If you are a couple, walk together. Don't separate, the man a few paces in front of the woman, or running forward to look at a shop window, or take a photo.
Singapore is known for being a relatively safe country, with the death penalty, which cuts down the opportunity for a serial killer to be released and kill more at random, or in revenge on witnesses.
Singapore Safety
However, as one of their campaigns said, low crime does not mean no crime. In some areas they list the number of thefts, such as bicycle thefts and thefts from shops.
Spanish flag.
Spain Theft
Years ago a grab theft happened to my parents in Spain. The two men were walking ahead. the two ladies were walking behind. The thief ran past the men towards the ladies. he grabbed a handbag and ran on. By the time the men heard the women shout and ran back, the thief was well ahead and had disappeared around a corner.
A thief was caught after another theft, in Marbella, Spain. My husband and I were unloading the car which was parked nose to pavement. I was standing by the boot. (Americans say trunk). A car pulled up behind. My shoulder bag strap was slashed.
My husband ran around and put his arm though the window. the car sped off, dragging him along. I thought he was going to get smashed against a parked car as the car turned the corner.
A passer-by ran up to me and said, "I've memorised the number. Write it down."
But my pen and notebook were in the stolen bag. We dashed into the adjacent property agent but the assistant was on the phone to a customer and tried to wave us away. We shouted and insisted 'policia" and grabbed a pen and paper. Somebody else wrote down the number.
My husband drove us to the nearest police station to make a report. They already had a suspect in custody. They had a car. the stolen ar containing three or four lads had driven around the corner into the high street, hit another vehicle. The police had arrived quickly, but the driver had run off. The man they caught claimed he could not drive, had no license, and did not know the others in the car, who were strangers he met in a cafe who offered him a lift.
I was shown a Swiss army knife and asked, "Is this yours?"
Later I realised that it was the knife used to slash my bag handle.
Second Theft In Spain
Later, I was called to the police station and given back the slashed bag and a few of the contents - minus the money. The thieves must have thrown away the bag in a bin. One of the things to do after a theft is to check nearby bins for the abandoned bag. If you retrieve the bag or your diary, that could be useful.
At the time I was teaching. I had my appointments in my lost diary. I recall driving out of my drive back in London the following week when I was hailed by an anxious pupil. She had come for a lesson, which I had forgotten, after all the excitement and the loss of my diary.
As they say, better safe than sorry.
Safe travelling.
Useful Websites
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Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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