Man cheated Woodlands Giant Supermarket of 143 items using self-checkout machine 26 times over 3 months
A Singaporean man, Chang Ka Phin, 47, exploited a self-checkout loophole 26 times at a Giant supermarket in Woodlands North Plaza.
He would scan items, cancel them, then buy a relatively cheap drink so the machine would approve only the latter payment.
Over three months, he walked away with 143 unpaid items worth about S$534, until a staff member caught him exploiting the loophole and demanded a receipt, reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Source: Google Maps
Used self-checkout trick at Woodlands supermarket 26 times
Between Jan and March 2025, Chang went to the Giant outlet at Block 883 Woodlands Street 82, where he used the self-checkout machine to get free groceries.
Each time, he would scan multiple items, cancel them, and pay only for a drink costing between S$0.50 and S$0.70.
According to CNA, this created the illusion that he had paid for all the items, allowing him to walk out with unpaid groceries.
Source: annastills on Canva. Image for illustrative purposes only.
Chang’s scam came to an end on 21 Mar, when a loss prevention officer noticed him acting suspiciously and waited outside the supermarket, CNA reported.
When Chang left, the officer stopped him and asked for his receipt.
Even though Chang did not produce the requested receipt, a staff member later printed it out.
The receipt showed that Chang only paid for a single drink, but there were several other items in his bag.
Source: Google Maps
Further investigations revealed that Chang had used the same trick 25 times before, cheating the supermarket of 143 items worth about S$534.
‘I just pray that I won’t go to jail’ he said, but gets jail sentence
Chang, who was unrepresented, made full restitution and submitted a written mitigation plea.
When asked if he wanted to say anything else, he told the court, “I just pray that I won’t go to jail.”
“I really regret what I did.”
However, the judge noted that the offence carried a mandatory jail term, especially since it happened 26 times, CNA reported.
She added that while the amount involved was “not particularly significant” and that Chang had fully paid the amount back, the repeated offences could not be ignored.
For cheating, Chang could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Chang was eventually sentenced to one month’s jail for the offence.
As his charge was amalgamated, meaning it involved multiple similar offences, the maximum penalties could have been doubled.
He was eventually sentenced to one month’s jail.
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Man in S’pore jailed after using fake PayNow screenshots 116 times to buy cigarettes
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and dusanpetkovic on Canva. Picture on the right for illustrative purposes only.
