Man allegedly swiped sunglasses from shop in Changi Airport, discarded them when he was noticed
A 45-year-old Chilean man has been charged in court after allegedly stealing a pair of sunglasses worth S$390 from a shop in Changi Airport.
The alleged offence was committed on 27 May in the transit area of Terminal 2, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release on Thursday (4 June).
Source: Google Maps
Changi Airport shop alerted police after missing sunglasses
On that day, the affected retail outlet alerted the police at 1am to a case of suspected shop theft.
This was after a retail assistant noticed that a pair of sunglasses was missing from a display shelf.
He viewed CCTV footage and realised that a man had taken the pair of sunglasses, which is worth S$389.91.
Source: Singapore Police Force
He then allegedly left the store without paying.
When the retail assistant followed the man, he saw him discarding the sunglasses when he realised he had been noticed.
Man arrested before departing on flight
Officers from the Airport Police Division managed to identify the man via ground enquiries and checking CCTV footage.
He was subsequently arrested before his flight departed, preventing him from leaving Singapore.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook. Photo for illustration purposes only.
The item was also recovered.
Man slapped with 2 charges, including theft in dwelling
On Friday (5 June), the man was charged in court with the offence of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to seven years and/or a fine.
He was also charged with preventing the course of justice under Section 204A of the Penal Code 1871.
Offenders may be jailed for up to seven years and/or fined if found guilty.
SPF takes ‘serious view’ of shop theft
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 assume that they can evade detection after committing such offences.
SPF also pledged to continue to work closely with stakeholders to prevent and deter cases of shop theft at Changi Airport.
Also read: 3 foreign nationals to be charged over Changi Airport shop thefts, items worth over S$3.5K recovered
3 foreign nationals to be charged over Changi Airport shop thefts, items worth over S$3.5K recovered
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force.
