A 26-year-old woman was arrested by the police after attempting to flee from the staff at Tampines U Stars supermarket when she was caught not paying for bottles of alcohol. In addition, she was found in possession of other food items, which she allegedly shoplifted from a nearby Giant supermarket.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman is accused of committing these crimes on the morning of May 27 along Tampines Street 81.
Behaving suspiciously
The incident unfolded when a staff member at U Stars supermarket, identified as Wu, noticed the woman behaving suspiciously as soon as she entered the store. He observed her inquiring about the location of eggs and subsequently picking up multiple food items and two bottles of Korean plum wine.
When the woman approached the cashier to pay for some of the food items, Wu noticed that she did not present the two bottles of Korean plum wine from her tote bag for payment. After she left the supermarket, Wu consulted his colleague and confirmed that she had not paid for the wine.
Chased after her
Upon realizing this, the supermarket staff gave chase to the woman, repeatedly instructing her to stop. However, she continued to flee despite their warnings. Eventually, Wu and his colleagues managed to apprehend her, and they promptly contacted the police. While waiting for the authorities to arrive, the woman resisted and attempted to escape but was eventually handcuffed and taken into custody by two police officers.
Meanwhile, an employee from the nearby Giant supermarket, Wang, stated that the police had informed them of their suspicions that the woman had also stolen items from their store. The alleged stolen items included two packets of frozen chicken, two packets of minced pork, and two cans of sausages, with a total estimated value of around S$28.
The police have confirmed the arrest of the 26-year-old woman, and investigations are currently underway.
Not the first time
Wang further claimed that this was not the woman’s first instance of theft from the same Giant outlet. He revealed that the supermarket had captured her on CCTV shoplifting before. On two separate occasions, she was seen stealing two packets of frozen fish and two canned food items.
Wu recalled an incident from two years ago when the woman caused a disturbance after breaking some glass. She claimed to have sustained injuries from the shattered glass and threatened to take legal action against the supermarket.
Wu mentioned that his suspicions were initially raised when he noticed missing bottles of alcohol during stocktaking.
Subsequently, the staff began to notice missing items whenever the woman visited, but they never had the opportunity to catch her in the act as she always chose times when there were fewer staff members around at the time.