A SNATCH thief who has been preying on elderly women in the Redhill and Tiong Bahru area in the past four months was caught early on Thursday.

Police closed in on him after he snatched a gold necklace from a 69-year-old woman at the void deck of Block 82, Redhill Close, on June 20 at about 9.45am.

An umbrella left by the suspect in a drain near a petrol station along Tiong Bahru road after the crime gave police the breakthrough. The umbrella was sent for DNA tests and led police to his arrest at his flat near Cantonment Close on Thursday at 1.40 am.

The suspect struck randomly, using different bicylces and wearing different baseball caps.

He also varied the frequency, striking in quick succession, then stopping for several months, before surfacing again, said police.

The 49-year-old suspect will be charged in court on Saturday morning.

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