Italian swimmers who shoplifted at Changi banned from returning to SG

SINGAPORE: The Olympic swimmers from Italy who were caught in an alleged shoplifting incident at Changi Airport last month and who were briefly detained were given a one-year conditional warning, according to the Singapore Police Force (SPF). Moreover, 22-year-old Chiara Tarantino and 20-year-old Benedetta Pilato are also banned from entering the city-state.

“After consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the two women were administered a 12-month conditional warning on Aug 19,” CNA quoted SPF as saying.

The two women have not been charged, and the conditional warning means that during the 12-month period mentioned by the AGC, they are not to re-offend.

Italy’s embassy in Singapore has also spoken up regarding the incident, saying that it had provided help to the swimmers, who returned to Italy on Aug 19. The embassy said it “intervened on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to assist and provide support to the two Italian nationals involved in the case.”

The matter had been “duly handled by the competent Singaporean authorities,” a representative for the Italian embassy added.

On Aug 29, the Italian swimming federation said that it condemned the incident. Two days later, Cesare Butini, who heads Italy’s national swimming team, expressed “great disappointment for behaviour that benefits no one and certainly harms the movement in general.”

He told the Italian daily La Repubblica that he had not yet had a chance to talk to the two swimmers, “not only because the events took place outside the national team’s schedule, but also because I didn’t want to. What could I have said that their parents hadn’t already said? What they did is very serious. Ending up on the front page for this is not acceptable.”

The shoplifting incident

Ms Pilato and Ms Tarantino had been in Singapore from Jul 11 to Aug 3 to take part in the World Aquatics Championships, where Ms Pilato won the bronze medal in the 50-metre breaststroke. Afterwards, they took a side trip to Bali and returned to Singapore on Aug 14. From there, they were scheduled to fly home to Italy.

While the two were at Changi Airport, however, Ms Tarantino was seen on camera taking three bottles of perfume from a duty-free shop. According to a report in Gazzetta dello Sport, Ms Tarantino placed the bottles into Ms Pilato’s luggage.

They were apprehended by Singaporean authorities, and their possessions were searched. The two women were handcuffed and brought to a police station, where they spent the night.

Upon the intervention of the Italian embassy, the women were brought to a hotel, where they were not allowed to leave, while investigations were carried out. A judge issued them a warning on Aug 19, and the two women flew home the next day. /TISG

Read also: Italian World Aquatics medallist held in Changi shoplifting case claims she’s ‘learned great lessons’ from incident