S’porean man says Thai Tinder date vanished after supper in JB — along with RM2,800 from his e-wallet
A Singaporean man claimed that a first date with a woman in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ended with her disappearance, an unauthorised RM2,800 (around S$885) e-wallet transfer and a blocked WeChat account.
He also ended up lodging a police report in JB.
Stomper Jack said he matched with a 29-year-old woman on popular dating application Tinder on April 24. Her profile identified her by the nickname “Sweet sweet”.
On May 29, the pair met in person for the first time at Erawan Thai Restaurant in the Mount Austin neighbourhood.
According to Jack, the woman — who introduced herself as “Nam” or “Sugar” — told him she worked freelance public relations jobs at a small bar and lived at Akademik Suite, a condominium in the area.
During dinner, she allegedly took hold of his unlocked mobile phone for several minutes "under the pretext of browsing vacation destinations and discussing plans for future outings together”.
“At that moment, I did not suspect any criminal intention behind her actions,” said Jack, who footed the RM116 (around S$36) dinner bill.
The disappearing act
At 12.54am on May 30, the Thai woman suggested heading to a nearby 7-Eleven outlet in Austin Heights to buy drinks and ice before continuing the evening at her residence, said Jack.
However, after paying for the items, he realised she had disappeared.
“I searched the surrounding area in panic but was unable to locate her,” the Stomper recounted.
He also discovered that he had been blocked on WeChat.
“At that point, I sensed that I had been deceived and potentially victimised,” Jack said.
Growing suspicious, Jack checked his financial accounts and claimed to have found an unauthorised RM2,800 transfer from his Touch ‘n Go eWallet account to an individual surnamed Chiang.
He showed Stomp screenshots of the transaction dated May 30 sometime after midnight and a police report lodged at Larkin Police Station at 2.36am.
Restaurant staff allegedly recognised woman
Jack said he returned to the restaurant after discovering the transfer.
According to him, two restaurant employees recognised the Thai woman and told him they had seen her there previously with different men.
“They recognised her as a regular customer, but didn’t inform me because they thought we were a married couple,” said Jack.
He claimed the staff told him that they suspected the Thai woman had been involved in similar incidents on about six previous occasions.
Jack feels that the revelation “strongly suggests the existence of a repeated criminal pattern targeting unsuspecting individuals through dating applications and social manipulation".
That said, it appears that the restaurant staff has taken steps to address the matter.
“Next time, she (will be) unable to escape through the back door because it is now sealed with a brick wall,” the Stomper said.
Stomp has contacted Larkin Police Station and Erawan Thai Restaurant for comment.
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