Sneaker thief faces jail for stealing 122 pairs of shoes from outside condos

Singapore—On Monday (Nov 4), Warren Vicente Canabe, a 41-year-old Filipino, was sentenced to 13 months and two weeks in jail for stealing shoes and other valuables from condo units along the Sengkang area.

In July 2019, Canabe went on a jog near La Fiesta Condominium, Sengkang  when he came up with the idea to steal the shoes that residents left on shoe racks outside their homes and apartment units.

Disguising himself with a baseball cap and sunglasses, he swiped the branded shoes from outside the apartment units. He went on a spree about three or four times a week.

Canabe intended to sell the stolen footwear on Carousell or bring them back home in the Philippines according to an initial report by Channel News Asia.

His loot included mostly sneakers from Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Onitsuka Tiger along with two pairs of Timberland boots.

Read: GrabFood rider delivers food and ‘grabs’ some shoes for himself too

He also filched a kick-scooter and a S$2,505 MacBook Pro on 30 July. Canabe pulled the tablecloth towards the window and bagged the laptop.

Several victims filed police reports regarding the theft.

Police arrested Canabe on 31 Jul. Upon searching his home, they found 122 pairs of suspected stolen shoes which Canabe bagged during his month-long spree. Police also found a haversack that Canabe carried around when he surveyed the units and stole the footwear.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of stealing while another 20 charges were considered during sentencing. He could have been jailed for three years for each charge of theft along with a S$3,000 fine. Stealing the MacBook constitutes housebreaking for which he could have been jailed for 10 years.

This is not the first incident of shoe theft in condo and apartment units. In July 2019, two women were also caught red-handed trying to steal from a shoe rack outside an HDB flat in Teck Whye./TISG

2 ladies caught on CCTV stealing shoes at Tech Whye HDB