Australian arrested for alleged theft after returning to Changi Airport on transit
The police arrested an elderly Australian man for his suspected involvement in two cases of theft from a shop in Changi Airport.
In a news release on Friday (1 Aug) sent to MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said the 82-year-old allegedly stole perfume on two separate occasions.
Australian allegedly caught stealing on Changi Airport CCTV
On 18 March this year, a box of perfume worth S$149 was found to be missing from a display shelf of Shilla Cosmetics & Perfumes in the transit area of Terminal 1.
The Airport Police Division was alerted to the suspected theft at about 9.33am.
Officers used CCTV images to help identify the man spotted in the shop earlier that day.
He was seen allegedly leaving the shop with the perfume without paying for it.
However, he had already left Singapore by then.
Australian allegedly committed theft on previous occasion
Subsequently, follow-up investigations showed that the man had allegedly also committed theft on 13 March.
On that day, he allegedly took another box of the same perfume from the same outlet and left without paying for it.
Source: Google Maps
He departed the country after that, SPF said.
Australian arrested for stealing on 24 July, when he returned to Changi Airport
The Australian was finally arrested more than four months later on 24 July, when he returned to Changi Airport on transit for another flight.
Neither boxes of perfume were recovered.
He will be charged in court on Monday (4 Aug) with two counts of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in jail and/or a fine.
Offenders warned that flying away doesn’t mean escape
SPF said it takes a “serious view” of shop theft cases; thus, offenders will be dealt with firmly by the law, it noted, adding:
Offenders should not think that they can evade capture by quickly boarding an outbound flight.
SPF also pledged to continue to work closely with stakeholders and the community to prevent and deter cases of shop theft.
Numerous previous cases of theft at Changi Airport
There have been multiple cases of shop theft reported at Changi Airport, with more than one previous incident involving Shilla Cosmetics & Perfumes.
On 23 March 2023, an Australian woman allegedly stole a bottle of perfume worth S$248 from an outlet of the same shop in Terminal 1. Police arrested her more than two years later when she returned to Singapore in March this year.
In May 2024, a British woman went on a stealing spree in Terminal 4, including swiping an eye cream worth S$158 from the Shilla Cosmetics & Perfumes outlet.
In May this year, a British man was caught on CCTV allegedly stealing a bottle of perfume from Shilla Perfume and Cosmetics, as part of a theft spree involving more than S$2,900 worth of items.
Early last month, an Irishman was charged with allegedly stealing close to S$660 worth of perfumes from the same Shilla outlet in Terminal 1.
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Featured image from MS News and adapted from Google Maps.
