No diplomatic intervention for Italian swimmers who shoplifted at Changi Airport: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE - There was no diplomatic intervention for

two Italian swimmers who shoplifted at Changi Airport in August

to influence the legal outcome of the case.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said this on Sept 24 in a written parliamentary reply.

The police and Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had assessed that a

12-month conditional warning was appropriate

for Chiara Tarantino, 22, and Benedetta Pilato, 20, after they were caught by surveillance cameras taking perfumes from a store without paying.

They were also banned from re-entering Singapore.

Mr Shanmugam was responding to a question from WP MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) on why the two swimmers were issued only a warning and an entry ban for the shoplifting offence here.

Tarantino and Pilato had participated in the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore from July 11 to Aug 3. They then went on a holiday in Bali with two other teammates before a scheduled return to Italy via a flight from Singapore when the offence took place.

On Sept 24, Mr Shanmugam said the two swimmers were treated in accordance with a framework for treating offenders, based on types of offences committed.

The same framework applies to everyone, both foreigners and locals, with Singaporeans being treated similarly, added Mr Shanmugam.

“In the case of the two Italian swimmers, they stole items worth about $150. The items were recovered. After they were arrested, the two requested consular access,” said the minister.

“The police alerted the Italian embassy of their arrest, and continued their investigations.”

In the case of foreign offenders, the Singapore authorities will inform them of their right to consular access upon their arrest or detention, said Mr Shanmugam.

“Should they request consular access, we will inform the embassy so that the embassy can provide consular assistance as appropriate,” he said, noting this as a requirement under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which Singapore is a party.

Mr Shanmugam said Singaporeans have similar rights if they are arrested or detained in other countries.

He added that the provision of consular assistance has no bearing on the investigation process and legal outcome.

When media reports came out that the pair had been released with a warning and allowed to depart Singapore for home, several netizens questioned if they had been let off easily.

Mr Shanmugam said that in deciding on the appropriate course of action for a case, the police and AGC will generally consider its facts and circumstances, the severity of the offence, the presence of any aggravating or mitigating factors, and how similar cases have been treated.

He said in this case, the police and AGC assessed that a 12-month conditional warning was appropriate.

Mr Shanmugam added: “Given that they are foreigners, an entry ban was also imposed – such a ban will obviously not be applicable to Singaporeans.”

Shop theft is one of the top offences in Singapore

committed by young people, with the 2,097 of such cases accounting for about one in every five cases of physical crime. This is an increase of 4.2 per cent compared with 2,013 cases of shop theft during the same period in 2024.

The police said this on Aug 26 when they released their mid-year crime statistics for the first half of 2025.

The Italian national swimming team’s head coach Cesare Butini lambasted the two athletes over the incident, saying that action will be taken.

“Great disappointment for behaviour that does not help anyone and certainly damages the sport in general,” he was quoted as saying by Italian daily La Repubblica in an Aug 31 report.

“I will tell them they have done something very stupid. They are ambassadors, even when they don’t wear the (national uniform). What they did is very serious. Ending up on the front page for this, no thanks.”