Ex-beauty salon employee and husband carried out month-long S$14,000 theft spree

SINGAPORE: A couple worked together to steal from a beauty salon, with the wife — a former employee — conspiring with her husband to carry out six thefts within a month. Their actions resulted in nearly S$14,000 being taken from the store.

The pair, aged 28 and 36 and both from Malaysia, pleaded guilty to a combined burglary charge. They were subsequently sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment.

Case details

According to investigations, the female suspect worked as a beautician at a beauty salon and left in May of last year. During her employment, she handled cash and was familiar with the store layout and cashier procedures. 

Zaobao reported that the male suspect had been facing financial problems since last year, and owed money to both local loan sharks and Malaysian loan sharks. Furthermore, he has credit card debt and debts to his family and friends. In order to repay his debts, he worked with his wife and targeted her former employer. 

Before committing their crime, the female suspect made a trip back to the beauty salon and visited her former colleague. She took this opportunity to take the key of the salon from her colleague and gave it to her husband to make a copy. 

From December last year to early January this year, the female suspect was dressed in dark clothing and was wearing a mask and gloves when she entered the beauty salon using a copied key. She then withdrew cash from the cash register, locked the door, and left, having her husband as a lookout outside. 

Further details revealed that the couple broke into the beauty salon six times in one month, stealing a total of nearly $14,000 in cash, which was all deposited to the wife’s bank account.

The crime was caught when the victims discovered cash was missing from the cash register in January. After reviewing the CCTV footage, they recognised their former colleague. The suspects were arrested on the same day, but the authorities did not recover the stolen money. 

In similar news related to stealing,  a man managed to steal several hundred dollars in cash from a coffee shop during the weekend, but the entirety of his crime was caught on camera. 

Overall, the shop lost a total of more than S$300 in cash, and the lock on the cash register was damaged and needs replacement. 

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