Meet Dumb and Dumber, two Singapore girls who were sprung shoplifting in Bangkok by a smart Thai retail network.
On holiday in the Thai capital last week, the two 18-year-olds couldn’t help but help themselves to clothing at the renowned Platinum Fashion Mall while a stall holder was using the restroom.
Subsequently, they couldn’t help but pose on Facebook with their ill-gotten gains, even after being forced to pay for them.
While the case has drawn widespread scorn on news sites in Singapore and made the pair an international laughing stock, it is perhaps more fascinating for the way they were caught by a proactive Thai retail network than for their unfathomable stupidity.
Immediately after stealing tops in the mall, the pair went to Mahboonkrong (better known as MBK), about 2km away. While looking at clothes there, they were approached by a woman and asked to return to Platinum to resolve their theft.
How were they caught? A quick-thinking storekeeper at Platinum captured images of the girls from CCTV footage and shared them on a Line chat app network of 1000 Bangkok retailers. It took just two hours for one of the retailers to recognise the girls at MBK.
Interviewed by The New Paper in Singapore, one of the girls said they were approached at the second mall, had their bags checked and were shown the CCTV footage on a smartphone.
“We didn’t understand what was going on because of the language barrier, but we were scared and knew we were in trouble,” she said.
“A group, including some people who seemed to be the police, came later. But after a discussion among themselves, they left.”
However, the girls were taken by taxi back to Platinum and escorted to the security office where they were told to hand over their passports or face being referred to the police. The issue was resolved when they paid for nine identical tops they stole, and reimbursed transport costs, a total of about 5000 baht (US$147).
“We were very scared and confused because we didn’t know what would happen to us,” one of the girls told TNP.
While the legality of what happened to the pair may be debatable, the incident proved how well organised the retailers at both centres were.
Since the incident, photos have gone viral on social media and the girls have been identified. They are now more than contrite for their actions, apologising to both Singaporeans and Thais.
“It was so stupid of us to do what we did, and we truly feel remorseful for appearing as if we didn’t treat the situation seriously,” said the girl who was interviewed.
She said that when they walked past the shop, which had a bamboo pole across its front while the owner was off-site, they stole the tops on impulse. “We were not thinking straight at the time. It was a silly thing to do.”
She says the photos were taken only after the matter was settled, but they regret making light of the situation and amplifying the event on Facebook.
“On hindsight, it was completely wrong of us to make light of the situation.”
