THE store manager found four magazines missing from his shop at the MRT station.

But he did not get a close enough look at the man who stole from him.

So, Mr Richard Woo, who is in his 40s, asked to see the footage from the train station's closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

True enough, the shoplifter was caught in the act on film.

The incident happened on 24 Oct, a Friday evening, at Mr Woo's minimart at the Clarke Quay MRT station.

It was about 7pm.

Mr Woo recalled: 'I saw a man who looked like he was in his 20s outside the store. My wife also saw him.'

The magazine rack is placed outside the store.

Busy with customers

Mr Woo and his wife, Madam Anna Yu, 33, said they did not keep an eye on the man as they were busy serving other customers.

Several minutes later, the couple went outside the store.

The man was no longer there. Also missing were four magazines, Mr Woo said.

'We asked the customers in the store if they had seen anything unusual, but they said no.'

So Mr Woo went to see the MRT station manager to see if he could view the CCTV footage.

Madam Yu, 33, said: 'The footage showed a slim and tall man wearing a T-shirt and bermudas and holding a plastic bag walking down the stairs towards the store.

'He stopped at the magazine rack and picked some magazines from there.'

He then dropped the magazines behind the rack, picked them up again, and put them into the plastic bag he was holding.

Mr Woo said the man then calmly got on an escalator that led to Central mall.

The man took four magazines, which cost nearly $60 in total, Mr Woo said, and were among the most expensive magazines he sold.

Three of the magazines contained adult content while the fourth was a fitness magazine.

Mr Woo, who has worked at the store for about two years, said the magazines were usually bought by tourists staying at the hotels in the Clarke Quay area, or sailors in Singapore on shore leave.

Mr Woo said he had not seen the shoplifter before and that he has not returned to the store since that day.

A police spokesman said they were informed of the theft at 8.35pm on 24 Oct.

Investigations are ongoing.

Ms Tammy Tan, vice-president of corporate communications at SBS Transit, which runs the MRT station, said it will be helping police in their investigations.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Nov 8, 2008.