A 42-year-old woman was arrested last Saturday for the bizarre crime of stealing a car, only to abandon it by the side of the road later on. Suspected to be involved in a case of car theft at Mount Elizabeth Hospital at Orchard Road, the lady was a patient at the hospital where she nicked the car of a doctor from the building’s carpark.
In a statement on Saturday night, the police revealed that a 63-year-old woman, said to be an oncologist at the hospital, made a report about her stolen BMW on Friday around 4pm. The victim was not the doctor of the suspect.
Apparently, the doctor had left her car key in the vehicle at the carpark for valet service staff at 2pm, as she could not locate a parking lot. She only realized her car was stolen after she returned around 3:45pm and the staff said a woman had driven off with her car.
According to The Straits Times, the vehicle was later spotted abandoned along Scotts Road. Officers from the Tanglin Police Division recovered the car within 30 minutes.
The next day, police arrested the suspect around 11am at Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong on East Coast Road after her identity was established with the help of CCTV footage. Now that’s Singaporean efficiency for you.
The police also reminded the public to take crime prevention measures such as parking in well-lit areas, installing an anti-theft alarm system, locking all doors and winding up all windows while parked, and taking note of suspicious characters in the vicinity before leaving the car.
Investigations are currently ongoing. Anyone convicted of motor vehicle theft can face up to seven years in jail and a fine.
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