Saturday, April 18, 2009

Catching the Conman

16 April 2009

A casual chat turned out into becoming a thrilling experience in catching a conman.

Hock Rong and I were chatting at MacDonald's when I saw a familiar man walked in. He started to approach each table and begged for money. He would place a paper with 4 numbers on it and then go into a trance state, clasping both palms together, and started praying to the diners.

I highlighted to Hock Rong that I have seen that man before, begging in the same fashion at Toa Payoh. Back then, when my friend and I didn't give him money, he grabbed my friend's arm and kneeled down, embarrassing my friend into giving him money. Hock Rong had also seen this man begging before.

I suggested we should report such conman to the police. It was intended to be a casual remark. When the conman approached our table, Hock Rong mentioned about calling the cops and the conman retreated away from us. Hock Rong then called the Bedok Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Not to lose the conman, we tailed him as he completed begging in MacDonald's and a Malay foodstall. At one point, he turned and noticed us. Walking past him, we made sure he was within our vision. Looking at us suspiciously, he did an about turn and walked towards the Malay foodstall, and walked to the back of the shophouses. There, we lost him.

The police arrived and it was such a coincidence that one of the officers is the liaison officer of Hock Rong's RC. The police left to patrol the area, while we carried on our search. We combed the entire market and walked past all the coffeeshops in the area but to no avail.

Just as we were about to give up, we decided to return back to the place we lost chase of him. A surprise awaited us. He was hiding behind the shophouses a distance away from the foodstall. We hid behind a bush as Hock Rong monitored his movements and informed the police officers of the suitable approach route.

And yes, the police officer stopped him and interviewed him. His details were recorded and he was given a stern warning.

As grassroots volunteers, it is our duty to help keep our estate a safe and secure home to live in. The mission was accomplished with the conman's details recorded. This would hopefully deter him from coming to Eunos to con again.

At my void deck, we saw him walking to the coffeeshop to get a drink. Hock Rong said that if the conman were to use the cheated money to buy cigarettes, he would confront the conman and give him a good lecture.

We continued our discussion when suddenly I spotted him leaving and sounded off to Hock Rong. Through our eyes, we saw him taking out a lighter to light the cigarette at his mouth. I poked fun at Hock Rong, "Live up to your words."

Without second thought, he brisk walked towards the man. We tailed him until he boarded a cab. Hock Rong immediately dashed forward and knocked hard on the taxi as it was driving away. Fortunately the taxi stopped.

Opening the car door, Hock Rong reprimanded the conman who was scared out of his life and kept crying. The conman promised never to return back to this area to cheat people's money. Looking at the poor plight of the conman, Hock Rong didn't persist in getting him out of the taxi. I thought that would be a mistake, especially if the conman would run off later without paying the taxi fare.

Chilling off after the thrilling experience, Hock Rong then narrated how he helped the police catch a motorbike thief.

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