SINGAPORE - A man who is accused of stealing vitamins from a Watsons claimed that the staff were hallucinating.

Maniram Kese Sunar, 50, faces one charge for theft and another for skipping bail.

He is alleged to have stolen two bottles of multivitamins from Watsons in Tampines Mall on the evening of June 15 last year.

The bottles, one for men and the other for women, were worth about $46 each.

He is also accused of failing to report for bail in July last year.

On Tuesday (April 13), Maniram appeared in court and began addressing the judge while another case was ongoing, saying he was late for his hearing because he was lost.

He only quietened down after the court officers told him to take a seat.

When his case was heard, Maniram denied stealing the vitamins.

"The staff of Watsons are under a lot of stress. I think they were hallucinating. I don't remember taking the items," he said.

"I am a true blue Singaporean, I speak the four languages here, I will not do something like that."

He also repeatedly asked for security camera footage from the Watsons outlet to be played.

District Judge Kessler Soh noted that he was not pleading guilty.

Maniram is expected to be back in court on April 21 to face trial.

He is currently out on bail for $2,000.

For theft, he may be jailed for up to three years, or fined, or both.