Next time you’re shopping for luxury items in London — or anywhere in Europe, in fact — please be extra cautious.
Earlier this week, Taiwanese actress-host Lee Pei Zhen took to her Facebook to share that she was robbed during her trip in London with her 14-year-old daughter, Xiao Ke Le.
She wrote that it was Xiao Ke Le’s first time in London and they were walking back to their hotel after shopping when her daughter wanted to check out a boutique.
As the shop was very crowded, Xiao Ke Le entered the shop by herself while Pei Zhen stood by the road to catch a breather.
She also placed her three bags of shopping next to her on the ground.
Just two minutes later, when Xiao Ke Le came out of the store, Pei Zhen suddenly realised that her black Chanel paper bag had gone missing from right under her nose.
In that bag was the Wavy CC Hobo bag, priced at approximately £5,700.00 (S$9.9K), which she had just gotten from the Chanel store earlier that day.
“The Chanel Hobo I’ve owned for merely two hours, you’re officially a hobo now,” she joked in her caption. Well, at least she still had the mood to pun.
But at that moment when they lost the bag, all Pei Zhen and Xiao Ke Le could do was to stare blankly at each other.
“We hoped that wasn’t real. I saw tears in Xiao Ke Le’s eyes because she was so upset. I could only console her and tell her she must be extra careful next time,” recalled Pei Zhen.
Some of her showbiz pals went on to leave comments on Pei Zhen’s post, advising her on how to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
“If you are buying luxury items in Europe, it’s better to take a car back to the hotel and lock them there before heading out again,” suggested Taiwanese lawyer Lea Lee.
She also said she would usually tell the boutique staff to not give her a paper bag with the brand logo on it and would ask them to pack her items in a white or black bag instead.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese influencer Seventtova Lee, who lives in the UK, urged Pei Zhen not to walk along the streets after shopping.
“You immediately become a target! You have to be very careful even when you’re using your phone. If you really need to use it, it’s better to lean against the wall while doing so,” she reminded Peizhen.
A netizen also told Peizhen that she could ask the boutique staff to deliver the item to her hotel instead.
So dear readers, which method do you think will work best when you’re shopping in Europe?