Is it really just a theft?

Today, i went shopping with roger in orchard (yes! finally a good shopping after so many days of work) we got down the somerset mrt stop. just as we are queuing to go up the escalator to the tix concourse level, a man suddenly shouted. we turned our heads, and saw a man(with specs, confirm singaporean) chasing another man(with dark complexion, 90% confirm is foreigner, think from thai or myanmar, not sure where lah). our first impression is that they are playing the 'chasing' game. "so childish!" is my first thought.

it is until the specs man shouted out loud that the man in front stole his handphone that we realise the dark guy is a pickpocket. and he ran quickly to the other side of the mrt tunnel. some ppl ba dao xiang zhu (means give a helping hand), by giving chase. and he ran towards our direction!! the ppl chasing him are still a distance from him. and before i can gain conscious from the shock, roger tried to join in the chase too. but luckily, the ppl chasing him managed to catch hold of him shortly. however, he was struggling hard. roger and ppl were trying hard to stop him from running away. then, if i remembered correctly, he somehow managed to break free, and ran to a corner of the tunnel again. this time, i pulled roger away (a gesture that tells him not to give chase already, cos i'm scared that something will happen him). at that time, the singaporean guy announced loudly to the crowd that he's bringing the case to the police. and he coolly went up the tix concourse level. i supposed to report the case to the staff. after a few seconds, the pickpocket (after seeing that nobody bother to chase him already), quickly sneaked up by taking the stairs. roger was like saying seriously "i dun think he can escape".

when we immersed to the tix concourse level from the escalator, we saw a "police station" scene. think the staffs managed to stop the pickpocket and were questioning the victim whether he was sured that the dark guy stole his handphone. at that point, wat i saw from the expression of the pickpocket's face was a combination of fear, guilt and confusion. and i just felt so sad for him. after this incident, some things occurred to me.

1. i know theft is wrong. but why did he pickpocket? if it's some mischievous school boy, i can understand. i dunno, maybe my imagination runs wild. but i can imagine him being a poor foreigner, that perhaps comes to singapore to work but can't afford the high SOL or perhaps he needs to send money back. so he resort to stealing. but again why why why? can't he do something else to earn money? or perhaps stealing is already his last resort since he wasn't given opportunity in this realistic society? sigh.. another issue of inequality in the world. roger said he can imagine the pickpocket's confusion when he was being chased around. maybe he has regretted, but it's too late.
2. i understand why some singaporeans choose to bo kup. well, perhaps it's the easiest way out of a situation. sometimes, you just have no idea what to do. it's so much easier to watch and stare.
3. i also realise that roger matters to me. haha.. can't let him see this. or else he hao lian in front of me. haha.. when i saw him trying to catch the pickpocket, i was really worried. not that i dun want him to be a good citizen, but i can't bear the risk and pain of losing him if anything happen (again, maybe watch too much tv, i'm scared that the pickpocket might take out a knife to slash him, or maybe they get into a fight, or maybe he hold him as a hostage). but anyway, i'm proud of wat he had done. at least he's no coward, he know the right thing to do in the right time.

Overall, it's quite an experience(good or bad you decide).