Sydney hot pot restaurant ransacked as thief laughs into camera during break-in at Melrose Park
A brazen thief was caught on security footage laughing at the camera during a burglary in the north-west Sydney.
An unidentified man broke into Sam’s Chaoshan Hot Pot on Victoria Road in Melrose Park around 2 a.m. Thursday, causing more than $10,000 in damage.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Brazen theft at Sydney restaurant caught on camera.
Cabinets were damaged and the restaurant was ransacked, with approximately $3,000 in cash, five iPads used to place orders, a Bluetooth speaker and other items stolen.
Owners of the property, Maggie Lin and her husband Sam Song, both in their 50s, said they were shocked and helpless when they discovered the break-in around 11 a.m.
“I’m very disappointed, really shocked and frankly helpless,” Lin told 7NEWS.com.au.
“You can see him on our CCTV. He’s actually looking directly at the camera and smiling. It made me so angry to watch that.”
CCTV footage shows the man, wearing a black-and-white T-shirt, dark green shorts and a white hoodie covering his head, using a tool to pry open the safe shortly after entering.
“He forced open the safe, broke it, pulled out all the cables, and broke the cabinets underneath,” Lin said.
“He basically opened everything he could and went through it.”
The man was also seen pouring water into a large bottle of dishwashing liquid and splashing the mixture onto areas he touched in an attempt to remove fingerprints or other evidence.
The restaurant was left in disarray.
The couple said they took photos of the damage and immediately tried to contact the police, but were unable to reach them for about an hour until they were advised to file a report online.
Lin said they submitted the report, but NSW Police He told 7NEWS.com.au the message was not received.
Needing to reopen to make ends meet, the couple cleaned the restaurant themselves and paid out of pocket to replace stolen iPads.
Originally of china Lin, from Guangdong province, said he moved to Australia in 1999 and has been the owner of the restaurant for about 10 years, adding that they have never experienced anything like this before.
“I feel like Sydney is becoming increasingly unsafe,” he said.
“You feel more and more helpless, as if the crimes are getting worse.”
Lin urged other business owners to avoid leaving cash on the premises overnight, secure valuable equipment, invest in strong locks, ensure CCTV coverage is comprehensive and install alarms.
