Ladies of Malaysia, your year-long nightmare is over. The underwear thief of Penang has been caught. According to the Straits Times, a serial snatcher of ladies' undergarments has been nabbed red-handed — thanks to one red bra.
Residents of two 45-story megacity condominium complexes near Jalan Masjid Negeri, outside of George Town, Penang, had been suffering a series of brazen bra heists, as often as three times a day. Management was aware of the problem, but the thief “was clever enough to avoid elevators and corridors with cameras.”
Finally residents took it upon themselves to nab the knicker nipper: On Sunday, a red bra was hung up in a public area as bait.
Before you can say “panty raid,” the thief struck. Security, hiding in wait, followed the man back to his apartment and found the red-hot booty. They also found quite a few more intimate items. An estimated 1,000, to be exact. From the Star:
[T]he culprit's room was full of bras, panties, petticoats and camisoles.
Police also found items that were likely to be used in "fishing" for undergarments - broomstick handles, extendable poles and wire clothes hangers reshaped into hooks.
"His belongings were in paper boxes and he kept the stolen undergarments in his wardrobe. It was scary when I saw them. He had folded them all so neatly. Even the hooks and eyelets of all the bras were properly clasped," the manager said, adding that police had arrested the man.
Management has put the goods on display, encouraging residents to claim their disappeared dainties (which, ugh, include children’s underwear). So far, only a “few” have been claimed. In the Straits Times' words, it's “possible that some owners felt squeamish about reclaiming intimate items that had once been fetish objects."
-- Jeff Koyen