Actor Ben Yeo's Chai Chee coffeeshop hit by two break-ins in June

At a time when many food and beverage operators are struggling to stay afloat, Tan Xiang Chai Chee, a coffeeshop that Singaporean host-actor Ben Yeo co-owns in Chai Chee, has been hit by two break-ins in just 10 days.

The coffeeshop has five stalls, three of which are operated by tenants. The other two, a zi char stall and a drinks stall, are run by Yeo and his partners.

Yeo's stalls were unaffected but the burglar managed to steal more than S$900 from a cai fan (economy rice) stall during the first break-in. During the second attempt, the burglar failed to break into the same stall's upgraded safe.

Speaking to 8days.sg, the Mediacorp actor and entrepreneur said the break-ins took place in the wee hours of Jun 15 and Jun 25.

CCTV footage from both incidents showed a masked man wearing a cap and gloves entering Yeo's coffeeshop through the back door of the neighbouring beef noodle stall.

The man appeared to search one of Yeo's stalls before moving on to the cai fan stall, Pacific Veg Rice Porridge.

Yeo said the burglar forced open a locked metal cabinet housing the stall's safe during the first break-in.

During the second break-in 10 days later, the masked man allegedly switched off one of the CCTV cameras before breaking open the cabinet again. This time, however, he was unable to access the safe.

The 47-year-old actor-host said they are unable to confirm if the same person was responsible for both break-ins.

While Yeo's two stalls were unaffected as they do not keep cash on the premises overnight, he decided to speak up to highlight the challenges faced by those in the F&B industry.

"F&B is already so tough, and still people come and break into our shop," he lamented.

He also hopes publicising the break-ins will serve as a warning to the perpetrator that a police report has been filed and CCTV footage has been handed over to the authorities. He hopes it will also deter anyone else thinking of committing a similar crime.

Yeo added that they are looking into strengthening security to help prevent similar incidents from happening again.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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