In the early hours of last Tuesday, two valets at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) were entrusted with the key to a Ferrari 458.

Instead of safeguarding it, they used it to take the $1 million sports car for a joyride within RWS' compound that lasted a few minutes.

Their alleged misdeed was exposed when the owner, a 61-year-old retiree, checked the footage on his in-car camera.

Outraged by the incident, he has since filed a police report and issued a letter of demand to RWS through lawyer Chia Boon Teck.

The owner, who wanted to be known only as Preston, told The Straits Times he had gone to RWS for supper with a friend at about 2am.

He returned at 3.30am to find that his car was not where he had parked it, in front of the nearby Hotel Michael - even though he had twice reminded the valet staff not to move or drive his car when he handed his key over.

His instructions were ignored.

In the camera footage, which showed the Ferrari going past landmarks such as Hotel Festive and the casino, two men could be heard talking in English about the car. The passenger even bragged about having driven a Lamborghini and an Audi before.

The passenger added it was his "first time". He also informed the driver they were going at 80kmh - a speed limit of 40kmh is imposed on most roads on Sentosa.

The pair even discussed the car's handling, describing it as "smooth". The video ended when the car eventually stopped outside the casino, at which point the engine was turned off.

"It is clearly written in the insurance papers that the car is not covered when driven by a valet," said the owner. "At other hotels, they normally tell me where I should park."

He said he was "jumping up and down" in anger when he found out, and he wants to warn other exotic-car owners about the risks of valet parking.

The car was about a year old, he added, and the camera was installed about seven months ago.

A police spokesman confirmed that a report had been made and that the police are conducting investigations.

An RWS spokesman said it had been made aware of the incident by the guest and investigations involving all parties are ongoing.

"We take a serious view of incidents involving guest property and have in place strict policies for outsourced valet staff to follow," he added.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg