20-year-old national serviceman (NSF) Chua Jun Xuan Alister, stole at least 25 cans of milk powder for more than a year and resold them, using the money to fund his driving license and daily expenses.
He was sentenced on 9 May to 15 months of probation as well as 40 hours of community service, after pleading guilty to 2 counts of theft and one count of cheating, with another 6 charges being considered during his sentencing.
Background
Chua started his milk powder stealing spree back in July 2021, stealing between 25 to 30 tins of milk powder until September 2022.
He targeted only the Enfamil Pro A+ milk powder, which is more expensive and can fetch a higher price when he resold it.
He sold his illegal loots on Carousell and earned about $3,000, which he used to pay for his driving license as well as to cover his daily expenses.
Among the places that he stole from were the Sheng Siong supermarket outlets at Block 451 Bukit Batok Avenue 6 and 3 Yuan Ching Road.
The theft was discovered by an assistant manager at one of the supermarkets during a stock take of the milk powder tins, and a police report was subsequently lodged.
Separately, Chua also admitted to scamming others of money over the sale of Zouk tickets.
To date, he has made only about $1,000 of restitution to the scam victim and the supermarkets that he stole the milk powder tins from.
NTUC also faced the same problems
It was previously reported that at least two NTUC FairPrice outlets have started locking up their baby milk powders behind barriers as part of efforts to prevent shoplifting.
Bukit Batok SMC MP Murali Pillai, made a clarification on Facebook Live, after being “concerned” that the situation was being misread by the public.
Murali was seen in the Facebook live video with an employee of the supermarket and clarified that the anti-theft measures were meant to deter thieves who resell the stolen products.
He said that some netizens were under the impression that the measures had targetted those who are not able to afford baby milk powders, and confirmed that this was not the case.
He reiterated his point that FairPrice is concerned about people who steal with the view of making a profit, meaning selling and making a profit.