Korean pro footballer Yi-Young Park warns public vs pickpockets in BGC: ‘Be safe, everyone’

Korean professional football player Yi-Young Park warned the public about pickpockets in Bonifacio Global City after six ladies attempted to steal his wallet on the street.

The athlete detailed his recent experience in an Instagram post as he showed a video of two of the women who were involved in the incident that took place in front of a BGC mall. 

“I was walking on the street and six women were surrounding me for [quite] a long time,” he wrote in the caption. “Three people were in front of me, blocking my path to prevent me from walking quickly, and others were close behind me and then people nearby suddenly dispersed and I noticed something strange.”

He then immediately checked his bag and saw that it was opened. “They had stolen my wallet.”

Since the pickpockets “suddenly dispersed” in threes “in different directions,” Yi-Young said he was only able to go after one group to ask for his wallet back. “They started making loud noises, asking me if I was crazy, saying ‘We didn’t take your wallet!’” and getting angry and overacting.”

“It became clearer that they had stolen it,” he continued.

Yi-Young kept chasing the two ladies until they “reached a place with few people.” He got his wallet back after “one of the accomplices told another, ‘Just give his wallet back and let’s leave.’” 

While he was able to recover his wallet along with his identification cards, he later learned that it was still missing some cash. “Be safe, everyone,” he reminded the public.

In an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Yi-Young stressed the importance of being alert at all times. “If someone gets too close to me or if I’m approaching a group of people, I have to be aware of my bag and belongings,” he said.

“I also heard from those around me that following a pickpocket could actually be more dangerous,” he shared. “If you are in a place where there are not many people, it would be better not to follow to avoid further problems.”