15 people to be charged with theft; food, medicine, clothing among items stolen from shops
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Five of the seven cases named by the police in their June 8 statement involve major supermarkets such as Cold Storage, NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Fifteen people will be charged in court between June 9 and 10 for allegedly stealing items from shops.
The 15 are aged between 20 and 74, with four of the cases involving theft on more than one occasion.
Five of the seven cases named by the police in the June 8 statement involve major supermarkets such as Cold Storage, FairPrice and Sheng Siong.
On May 7, a 46-year-old woman was detained by a loss prevention officer at the Cold Storage outlet at Compass One after allegedly attempting to leave without making payment. She was later arrested by the police, who found that she had allegedly stolen five grocery items valued at about $202 from the outlet.
Similarly, on March 23, a 54-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing eight food items worth about $80 from the Cold Storage outlet at Great World City.
In another case, with the help of CCTV footage, the police identified a 58-year-old man who allegedly stole three audio earbuds from the Challenger outlet at Causeway Point on Jan 24. The value of the stolen items amounted to about $687.
The three will be charged with one count of theft in dwelling.
Another two women, aged 62 and 32, will be charged with two counts of theft, which took place in 2024.
The 62-year-old will be charged after police investigations linked her to two cases of theft at the same Sheng Siong outlet at Junction Nine in Yishun. In both cases, which took place on Nov 3 and Nov 9, 2024, she allegedly stole two boxes of flu tablets, amounting to $31 each time.
On Sept 9, 2024, the 32-year-old woman allegedly stole 11 items of clothing with a total value of about $581 from a Zara outlet at VivoCity. She was arrested by police officers after being detained by the outlet’s staff while attempting to leave without paying.
Further investigations revealed that, on the same day, she had allegedly stolen another 40 items, amounting to about $881, from the Muji outlet located at 100 AM mall in Tanjong Pagar.
In a separate case on Aug 28, 2024, a 74-year-old woman was detained by staff from the FairPrice outlet at 399 Yung Sheng Road after attempting to leave without making payment. She was later arrested by the police, who found that she had allegedly stolen 27 food items worth about $74.
Upon further investigation, the police found that she was also involved in two earlier cases of alleged shop theft at the same outlet dating back to Aug 1 and March 29, 2024. In these cases, she allegedly stole 27 food items amounting to about $103 and 48 food items amounting to about $212, respectively.
The woman will be charged with three counts of theft.
Another 34-year-old woman will be charged with five counts of theft after police investigations revealed that she was allegedly involved in five cases of theft in shops between July 8 and July 20, 2024.
She was arrested after attempting to leave the Sheng Siong outlet at 61 Teban Gardens Road without making payment for seven grocery items amounting to about $60.
Police follow-up investigations found that she had allegedly stolen from the same outlet on four previous occasions between July 8 and July 17, 2024. The 16 grocery items taken amounted to about $200.
The offence of theft in dwelling carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.
In their statement, the police reminded retailers to remain vigilant against theft amid increased shopping activity and larger crowds during the mid-year school holiday period.
They advised retailers to ensure a good line of sight for displays and to keep expensive merchandise in locked showcases or at prominent locations, such as near cashier counters.
Retailers are also advised to keep items under surveillance by CCTV cameras and to have recording systems set up at the store entrance and exit points to capture the facial features of shoppers.
The police strongly encouraged retailers to join the Shop Theft Awareness for Retailers programme
