A 36-year-old snatch theft suspect was arrested along Jurong Port Road on Thursday.

At about 12.30am that day, a 30-year-old woman reported to the police that her handbag was snatched by an unknown man while she was walking alone along Bayfront Avenue.

Two passers by helped in detaining the man, but he broke free and fled towards the East Coast Parkway with the handbag containing about $2,400 in cash, the victim's identity documents, and a smartphone worth some $1,000.

Officers from the Central Police Division launched a manhunt and arrested the suspect within 12 hours. The man led them to some bushes along Bayfront Avenue where the victim's handbag and its contents were recovered.