Woman who left S’pore in 2023 after stealing perfume at Changi Airport fined $750

SINGAPORE – A woman who stole a bottle of perfume from a Changi Airport store two years ago was fined $750 on April 11 after she pleaded guilty to a theft charge.

Australian Raj Varsha, 35, who stole a bottle of Chanel perfume worth nearly $250 from a store at the airport’s Terminal 1 departure transit area on March 22, 2023, was detained when she returned here on March 31, 2025.

Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority then referred the matter to the police.

State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Zakir Hussain told the court that on the day of the theft, Raj had arrived at Changi Airport with her family after a flight from Australia shortly before 3am.

At around 4.10am, she entered The Shilla Duty Free store at the airport’s Terminal 1 departure transit area, took a bottle of Chanel perfume and concealed it in her bag.

A security officer later spotted the missing bottle and alerted the store’s employees.

SPO Zakir said: “The accused, upon realising that the theft had been discovered, immediately left the Shilla store without paying for the said bottle of perfume. At 9.10am, she departed to Thailand with her family.”

One of the store’s supervisors viewed footage from CCTV cameras and alerted the Airport Police Division.

The court heard that Raj was detained when she returned to Singapore two years later on a flight from India on March 31.

She then admitted to the offence, claiming that she had given the stolen bottle of perfume to her mother as a gift.

Raj, who was not represented by a lawyer, wept as she stood before District Judge A. Sangeetha on April 11.

She tearfully told the judge: “I take full responsibility for what I have done and I’m very sorry. I’ve never had any issues with the law before... I wasn’t thinking straight (and) was not in the right frame of mind.”

She has since made a full restitution to the store.

Offenders convicted of theft can be jailed for up to three years and fined.