Police have confirmed that a Standard Chartered bank’s Holland Village branch was robbed today (July 7) morning at about 11.25am. According to a Mediacorp hotline caller who had been in Holland Village, the police had stopped him and asked if he had seen a male Caucasian wearing a cap.
Wanbao reported that the robber handed the teller a note and got away with $2 million in cash.
One Twitter user thought that the robber had gotten away with $20,000.
According to Wanbao, the robber took $20,000 away from Stan Chart Holland Village https://t.co/8KmgYDEM7I
— songboh (@songboh) July 7, 2016
A StanChart spokesperson in responding to media queries said that all its branch staff are well trained to react to such situations and that customer and staff safety are the bank’s “top priority”. She said that all its employees and customers are safe, that the bank immediately filed a police report immediately and is working closely with the police on the investigations.
Some Twitter users are amused that the suspect is an Ang Moh. One user Tweeted, “Times must be really bad in Singapore if even Ang Mohs need to rob banks.
Times must be really bad in #Singapore if even angmohs need to rob banks. | https://t.co/ciliR4ScC9
— Kelvin T (@cheanliang) July 7, 2016
Some Reditters are surprised how the mainstream media stumbled with words, just so that they can be the first with the news. ST initially reported, “A team of police officers were seen on foot looking for a suspect. They also check inside rubbish beans along Jalan Rumia.”
Mothership reported that StanChart has been robbed three times in the past, while PropertyGuru cashed in on the robbery to sell their news that Holland Village homes are losing appeal among expats.
Some Redditers asked what good were the CISCO guards who are stationed in banks: “The POSB branch at Tampines Central is guarded by this scrawny Malay uncle security guard. I always wonder if he can actually do anything if anything were to happen.”
Others lamented about how the mainstream media’s report of the robbery is not saying anything accept parroting what the bank spokesperson and the police said: “The lack of information about the robbery itself irks me. The whole article is basically about how the police are on the case. But what exactly happened? How much did he steal? How did it happen, especially with no commotion?”
According to Shin Min Daily News, the robbery incident involved a lone operator who had slipped a piece of note to the bank teller and made a quick getaway after getting the money. Police have launched an islandwide hunt for the man.