Police arrest mother-&-son shoplifting duo who stole $5,000 worth of sunglasses, perfume, etc, at Singapore's Changi Airport

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force said on Tuesday (Sept 15) that a mother and her teenage son from Uzbekistan had been arrested in connection with a series of thefts carried out in stores at Changi Airport on Aug 28.

The two were charged in court on Sept 16.

The thefts were discovered when a retail assistant at a shop in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 2 saw that three pairs of sunglasses were missing from a display shelf. After reviewing CCTV footage from that day, it was determined that a male teenager had taken the sunglasses and then, without paying, left the store premises. 

The three pairs of sunglasses were worth a total of $1,462.38. Fortunately, officers from the Airport Police Division were able to locate the teen, who was with his mother at the time. When their belongings were checked, the sunglasses, along with other items, were found among their possessions.

The police later discovered that the teen had taken several items with a total value of S$4,887.03 from six retail stores in the transit area. According to photos included in the statement from the police, aside from the sunglasses, these included several bottles of perfume, mobile phone cases, and accessories.

The teenager’s mother, meanwhile, had stolen a box of perfume worth S$149.90 from a shop in the area, and her son had given her one pair of the sunglasses he had taken.

Under Singapore’s Penal Code, the teen was charged with six counts of theft in dwelling, while his mother was charged with one count of receiving stolen property and one count of theft in dwelling.

Should they be found guilty of theft in dwelling, they could be sentenced to seven years in jail, be made to pay a fine, or both. As for the offence of receiving stolen property, it could result in jail time of up to five years for the mother, or she could be made to pay a fine, or both. 

“The Police take a serious view of shop theft and will deal firmly with offenders in accordance with the law. Offenders should not assume that they can evade detection after committing such offences,” SPF said in its statement. /TISG

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