The Police have arrested a 54-year-old man who is believed to be involved in a series of shop theft cases at department stores in Yishun and Woodlands estates.
On 16 October 2016, the man was detained by a staff at a department store in Yishun for his suspected theft of an assortment of liquor amounting to $880 and he was handed over to and arrested by the Police. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is believed to be involved in other similar theft cases at department stores in Yishun and Woodlands estates. Police investigations are ongoing.
The suspect will be charged in Court on 18 October 2016 with the offence of Theft in Dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, he faces an imprisonment term which may extend to 7 years and shall also be liable to a fine.
Retailers are strongly urged to take action to prevent shop theft and reduce losses by adopting the following measures:
a. Employ sufficient staff to keep an eye on merchandise, especially during peak periods so that no part of the store is left unattended;
b. Adopt a service approach towards loss prevention. Should staff detect suspicious persons in the shop, they should engage them proactively to provide more personalised attention. This would likely deter would-be thieves, while genuine shoppers would appreciate the good service;
c. Be alert to customers who ask excessive and irrelevant questions. This could be a distraction to divert the attention of staff while other accomplices commit the theft;
d. Install CCTV cameras at the entrance / exit of the store to capture the facial features of shoppers. Do ensure that the cameras are regularly serviced and in good working condition;
e. Display expensive items in locked showcases;
f. Install convex mirrors to cover blind corners; and
g. Install an Electronic Article Surveillance System and adopt "double tagging" for high value merchandises (i.e. use both overt and covert tags).
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
17 October 2016 @ 7:50 PM