A HAIRSTYLIST had her back turned for only 10 minutes, but that was all the time a thief needed to steal her $500 cellphone.

On Sunday, at 4.15pm, a young man walked into a beauty salon in Block 148 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, and asked the 46-year-old woman manning the counter about some hairstyling products on sale.

But the man left in a hurry shortly after she turned around to look for the items he mentioned. She then discovered her $520 Samsung cellphone missing from the counter top.

The man has short blonde hair, a tanned complexion and is about 1.8m tall. He was last seen wearing a light-coloured tee shirt and dark trousers.

In another theft which was reported on Sunday morning, a 70-year-old retiree lost her $500 gold necklace to a snatch thief.

The elderly woman was on her way home at 6.35am, after shopping for groceries, when a man called out to her from behind.

He yanked her $500 gold pendant necklace and escaped with an accomplice who was waiting on a motorcycle nearby.

The slim-built thief had a dark complexion, was about 1.6m tall. His accomplice was about 1.55m tall and was last seen in a tee shirt and dark pants. Both were wearing bike helmets.

Witnesses to either incidents should contact the police at 1800-255-000.