Duo With S’porean IC Allegedly Steals Packages From JB Condos After Renting Airbnb

Package theft is an unfortunately easy and quick crime to commit, as a Malaysian woman in Johor Bahru (JB) found out.

The culprits were an ethnically Chinese man and woman who were potentially Singaporeans. Not the best impression to be giving overseas.

Man & Woman with Singapore IC Steals JB Condo Packages

Xiaohongshu user Ms Shen (transliterated) put up three posts on the social media platform, two of them videos.

In them, she accused a man and woman of being package thieves.

The videos took place at the Austin Suites condominium in JB, with the first CCTV video captured on 25 July at 8:26 pm.

It showed a man and a woman entering the condo’s mailroom, where numerous packages lay waiting for collection.

The man immediately took two parcels from on top of the mailboxes with such casualness that you’d think he was just collecting his own items.

The white-shirted woman on the other hand spent some time “browsing” the packages on the floor, on top of the mailboxes, and in two pink baskets.

She apparently couldn’t make up her mind and left the mailroom with the man empty-handed.

The two packages were allegedly the property of Ms Shen, who had ordered baby products, according to Shin Min Daily News.

After the delivery man took photos confirming the packages had made it to the mailroom earlier that day, Ms Shen went to pick them up that night, only to find them missing.

Initially assuming it was a mistaken wrongful collection, she waited a few days to see if they would be returned.

When they weren’t, she complained to the condo management. On 29 July, they sent her the CCTV footage showing the theft.

According to her, the two had rented an apartment through Airbnb using a Singapore ID card. They had checked out on 28 July.

Thieves Struck at Other Apartments in JB

After posting the video online as a warning on 2 August, other residents contacted her, saying their packages had been taken by the duo as well.

The second video Ms Shen posted was sent by another resident, depicting the same mailroom at 6:54 pm on 26 July, a day after the initial theft.

The usual suspects entered the room, both in black. With an empty jar tucked under his arm for some reason, the man quickly took two packages from the pink baskets like you would pick apples from Sheng Siong.

As for the woman, she left her “shopping trip” with a black parcel this time. They were in and out of the mailroom in just 30 seconds.

Ms Shen also claimed that residents from other apartments across JB contacted her to claim that the man had done this same trick there too.

He would rent an apartment via Airbnb, steal a few packages, and leave.

Ms Shen noted that the man also used a Malaysian ID card in these other apartments, leaving his nationality unclear.

Singapore does not accept dual nationality above the age of 21.

Given its aforementioned ease, package theft occurs even in a low-crime nation like Singapore, with one delivery rider doing it in 2023.