SINGAPORE ~ Police are looking for a former employee of the watch shop at which more than US$5 million worth of timepieces and cash were stolen last week, a newspaper reported.

The theft marked a rare crime of such magnitude in one of Asia’s safest cities, which prides itself on tight security and a low crime rate.

The former employee had not returned home since December 26, the day the theft at Cortina Watch was discovered, and his whereabouts were unknown, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday.

Police were looking for him to help in their investigations, the newspaper reported.

Police declined to comment on the report but they confirmed 386 timepieces of various brands and S$27,000 in cash had been stolen.

Cortina Holdings said its loss totalled about S$7.9 million (US$5.5 million).

The theft occurred at Cortina’s outlet in the central Raffles City shopping mall after the close of business on Christmas Day and before the store opened Friday, Cortina said.

The amount stolen was the largest in the local timepiece industry in recent years, Geraldine Lim, secretary of the Singapore Clock and Watch Trade Association, said.