Thieves walk away with RM100,000 wedding ang pow

Three people were seen loitering outside the wedding dinner hall before the collection box went missing.

JOHOR BARU: Thieves walked away with about RM100,000 in ang pow money given to a couple at their wedding dinner at a Chinese restaurant here yesterday.

Lim Cia Cen, 29, a pharmacist in Adelaide, Australia, who married Rachel Sim, said about 550 guests attended their wedding dinner held at a Chinese restaurant in Sutera Mall.

“The thieves walked away with all the ang pow money given by the guests,” he said.

Cia Cen said the three thieves were seen loitering outside the dinner hall before the collection box went missing between 6.30pm and 7.50pm.

“They were not our guests but we did not suspect anything when they were near the entrance of the restaurant where the ang pow money was placed,” The Star quoted him as saying.

He said four people, including his sister, were manning the reception table and the collection was placed under the table.

“He said one of the suspects came to the table pretending to ask about something from my sister while his accomplice sneaked behind the table and took away the box,” he said.

Cia Cen said at that time his sister was manning the table alone as the other three people at the counter were ushering guests to their seats.

Sui Keng said they only realised the ang pow box was missing when the bride and bridegroom were walking into the hall.

“We still put on a happy face as if nothing happened but word had spread among the guests about the theft,” he said.

The family managed to print out the photos of the two suspects from the photographs taken at the restaurant.