Former Foot Locker staff fined for taking bribes in exchange for leaking info on limited-edition shoes

SINGAPORE - A shoe store assistant manager obtained nearly $10,000 in bribes from two men in exchange for sharing with them confidential information, including the launch dates of limited-edition footwear.

Xavier Goh Yixuan committed the offences when he was working at a Foot Locker outlet at Jewel Changi Airport.

The services of the Singaporean, now 31, were terminated on Jan 29, 2021, and he has since made a full voluntary surrender of the bribes he had received.

He was fined $30,000 on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to two graft charges. He will spend three months behind bars if the fine is not paid.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir said that Goh had taken the bribes from one Meng Fanxuan, 28 and a teenager, who cannot be named as he was below 18 when he committed the offences.

At the time, both Meng and the teenager, now 18, were in the business of reselling shoes for profit.

Goh had earlier contacted the teenager via social media platform Instagram to ask about a pair of sneakers that the latter was selling.

Goh also told him that he was then working at a Foot Locker store.

In early August 2020, Goh texted him on messaging platform WhatsApp and found out that the latter was looking for a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1 sneakers.

The DPP said: “The accused requested an incentive in exchange (for him disclosing the release date of the sneaker to the teenager). The accused made this request as he was in need of money for his then-upcoming wedding and purchase of house.”

They then agreed that the teenager would pay Goh in exchange for disclosing the release dates of certain shoes.

Goh agreed to the arrangement, despite knowing that such information was confidential and that he was not supposed to share it with the teenager.

The teenager later made PayNow transfers totalling $4,128 to Goh, over seven occasions between Aug 7 and Sept 7, 2020.

Based on information from Goh, the teenager managed to buy at least 57 pairs of shoes, either on the first day they were available for sale or a day later.

The teenager later sold the shoes and earned at least $2,850 in profit.

But in September 2020, Goh decided to stop dealing with him and deleted their correspondence, as he was worried that the teenager would tell others about their arrangement.

According to court documents, Goh also committed similar offences involving Meng.

DPP Hidayat said that Meng transferred a total of $5,681 to Goh’s bank account over 22 occasions between Aug 24, 2020 and Jan 1, 2021.

The DPP added: “Meng and the accused would avoid contact when Meng was present at the Jewel outlet to purchase the shoes, so that the other employees would be unaware that they know each other.

“Meng’s profits from reselling the sneakers amount to at least $6,000.”

Court documents did not disclose how the offences came to light, but Goh and Meng were later charged in court in October 2021.

Meng was earlier fined $20,000 in December 2021. Details about the outcome of the teenager’s case were not disclosed in court documents.