Man allegedly uses magnet to ‘cheat’ claw machine and win $45 Pokémon prize at Sunshine Plaza
A man allegedly used a magnet to pull a $45 Pokémon collectible tin into the prize chute of a claw machine at Sunshine Plaza, with the entire incident caught on CCTV.
The incident occurred at about 1.45pm on Nov 5 at Kuclaw, a claw machine shop at the mall along Bencoolen Street.
According to Shin Min Daily News, shop operator Xiao Qinyuan (transliterated), 33, said this was the first time in his six years in the business that he had encountered someone allegedly using a magnet to cheat a claw machine.
He has since made a police report.
Man allegedly used magnet after spending about $30
CCTV footage provided by Xiao shows a man standing in front of a claw machine, operating its controls with his right hand while holding an object against the left side of the machine with his left hand.
The object is believed to be a magnet, but his first attempt appeared unsuccessful.
The man then inserted more coins and operated the claw again. As the claw lifted the Pokémon tin, he allegedly used the magnet to pull it towards the prize chute.
The sound of the tin dropping into the chute could also be heard in the footage.
Xiao told Shin Min that the man had spent about $30 playing the machine and managed to obtain the prize on his second attempt using the suspected magnet.
He believed the man may initially have tried his luck normally, only resorting to the alleged trick after more than 20 unsuccessful attempts.
Xiao explained that his shop has a policy of giving customers a prize if they spend $200 on a machine without winning.
Judging by the man’s apparently practised movements, Xiao suspected this might not have been his first time using such a method.
Man was regular customer who had previously spent $200 on prize
What surprised Xiao was that the man was no stranger to his shop.
He told Shin Min that the customer used to visit frequently after Kuclaw opened in March 2026, although he had not seen him around since June.
The man had previously spent as much as $200 at the shop to win a prize he wanted.
In a separate interview with 8world, Xiao revealed that the man had sent messages to his personal and business WhatsApp accounts at about 1.35pm on the day of the incident.
However, the messages were subsequently deleted.
Thinking the customer might be trying to claim a prize, Xiao checked the shop’s CCTV footage.
He discovered that the man was still at the shop and allegedly witnessed him using a magnet to retrieve the Pokémon tin.
Xiao told 8world that the man had timed his second attempt to coincide with the claw’s movement, making it appear as though he had won the prize normally.
The man then took the tin and left.
The operator was surprised that a regular customer would allegedly resort to such a method for a prize worth just $45.
Police investigating, operator hopes man will return prize
Xiao told Shin Min that he hoped the man would come forward to apologise and return the Pokémon tin.
He also decided to publicise the incident to warn other claw machine operators about similar methods.
Xiao said he wanted the public to know that claw machine shops were equipped with CCTV cameras and that operators took a serious view of dishonest attempts to obtain prizes.
According to 8world, police confirmed receiving a report and said investigations were ongoing.
To prevent similar incidents, Xiao plans to move the Pokémon claw machine between two other machines, making it harder for customers to access its sides.
Man in Grab uniform allegedly causes nearly $1,000 in losses after charging power bank
In a separate incident, Xiao told Shin Min that a man wearing a Grab uniform allegedly disrupted the shop’s operations while charging his power bank.
The incident occurred at about 7pm on Oct 31.
According to Xiao, the man entered the shop looking for a power socket and knocked over the Wi-Fi modem in the process.
This caused the shop to lose its internet connection, affecting its CCTV cameras and payment system.
The man allegedly left his power bank charging at the shop and returned only four hours later to collect it.
Xiao claimed that the disruption resulted in losses of nearly $1,000.
He said he had also lodged a police report over the incident.
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