Police recall plane to Changi Airport gate, arrest 3 Chinese nationals over robbery at Singapore hotel

The suspects, aged 29 to 34, allegedly committed the robbery on Monday before heading to the airport and boarding a flight to Shanghai, AsiaOne reported. One of them is accused of restraining the 45-year-old victim by the neck during the incident.

The Singapore Police Force said in a press release the woman had contacted a person on a messaging platform who claimed to offer foreign currency exchange services.

After agreeing to exchange S$50,000 in cash for foreign currency to be deposited into her e-wallet, she met one of the suspects near Marina Bay Sands while accompanied by her child, Channel News Asia reported.

The suspect took the pair to a hotel room, where another man was waiting inside the bathroom. Police said the victim was forced to hand over the cash after one of the suspects restrained her by the neck. The woman and her child were then locked on the room’s balcony and suffered minor injuries. She was also seen climbing to an adjacent balcony to seek help.

Police identified the three suspects before 11 p.m. and determined that they had boarded a flight to Shanghai. The aircraft, which had already left the boarding gate, was recalled and the suspects were arrested with the stolen money in their possession.

The three men are set to be charged on Wednesday with robbery causing hurt, which carries a prison sentence of five to 20 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

Police said they “will not tolerate such brazen acts of crime and will spare no effort to apprehend offenders and deal with them in accordance with the law”.

They also urged the public to be cautious when arranging currency exchange transactions with unknown parties through social media or messaging platforms and advised using licensed money changers.