Tourists" bus goes missing in Rome

ROME – When thieves targeted a group of Singaporean tourists in Rome, their shopping bags, cameras and a passport were not the only things stolen.

The 26 holidaymakers were rudely interrupted during dinner when their driver discovered that their tour bus was missing from a parking bay on Sunday.

The coach, along with personal belongings and a day’s worth of shopping, was stolen within 15 minutes of the driver locking it.

He had stepped away to have dinner at the same restaurant, Papa Rex. According to a Lianhe Wanbao report, it is no more than 400m from St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City.

The bus was found within three hours by the Italian police – but the tourists’ valuables were gone.

The incident happened on the penultimate day of a 10-day trip conducted by Sino-America (SA) Tours Corporation.

Of the 25 Singaporeans and a Chinese national, 18 were affected.

They had a combined loss amounting to roughly 5,000 euros (S$8,300).

The tour leader gave the estimate to SA Tours from the first collective police report that was made after the incident.

The group arrived back in Singapore just before 7.20pm on Tuesday night.

Mr Alvin Tan, 42, a sales manager, lost a $2,000 camera and two shirts he bought worth $330.

His friend, whose passport was stolen as he left it on the bus, had to be re-routed through Switzerland to pick up travel documents in Geneva. He returned to Singapore on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, fellow traveller Lim Choon Seng, 48, told of how he was cheated of his gold ring and $500 in cash by a man in plainclothes who claimed to be a police officer.

The salesman, who had nipped outside the restaurant to smoke, said: “He told us that it was a dangerous area and to hand over our cash and gold so he could safeguard it for us.”

An SA Tours spokesman said the company will assist the travellers with travel insurance claims.

SA Tours said it constantly reminds its groups to safeguard their belongings. This is the first time that a tour bus has gone missing for the travel agency and its land operator in Italy.

Police have yet to find the culprits. None of the travellers was in any danger.

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Tourists" bus goes missing in Rome