Thieves Stole a 200kg Safe from Bedok Temple That is Undergoing Renovation

There’s a burglary in a Bedok temple, and this isn’t a case of someone sneaking off with a couple of joss sticks. No, this crafty critter managed to sneak into the temple and swipe the donation money. And if that wasn’t enough, they also made off with a 200-kilogram safe.

Talk about heavy lifting.

This daring heist took place in the wee hours of Wednesday (12 July) at Seu Teck Sean Tong temple at Bedok. It’s like something out of a movie, except instead of a fancy casino, it’s a humble temple.

Here’s what happened.

Thieves Stole a 200kg Safe from Bedok Temple That is Undergoing Renovation

When the temple’s caretaker, who usually opens the doors at 6:50am, arrived on Wednesday morning, he found something amiss.

One of the safes, which was placed outside a large tent set up temporarily for the renovation, had vanished into thin air.

“When the caretaker opened the door in the morning, he thought we (the management) had taken the 200-kilogram safe away for repainting,” said Yu Yiyuan (name in hanyin pinyin), the temple’s general affairs officer.

In addition, the donation box, which was placed on the left side of the temple for the worship of the Four-Faced Buddha, the God of Fortune, and the Emperor of Destiny, was pried open, and the money was gone.

A side door nearby showed signs of being pried open, and the broken lock was left at the scene.

Yu Yiyuan suspects that the thief entered and exited through this side door, and promptly reported the incident to the police.

He added that the hall on the right side of the temple has not been renovated for 40 years. In June this year, they began expansion and renovation work.

Currently, thousands of deity plaques are placed in a large tent set up temporarily, with paper offerings and incense candles placed nearby. “To facilitate the worship of believers, we moved two safes outside. We didn’t expect one of them to be carried away.”

We’re indeed carried away by the fact that someone actually took the effort to steal something that’s 200kg.