Man arrested for shop theft along Orchard Road

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Police Force (SPF) have arrested a 42-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of shop theft.

On June 10 at around 11.30am, the police were informed that a pair of sunglasses, valued at about $220, was discovered missing from the display shelves of a shop in Orchard Road.

After investigation, officers arrested the suspect on June 15 in Orchard Road.

If convicted, the man faces a maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment and is also liable to a fine.

The police advise retailers to take actions in preventing shop theft and to reduce losses by adopting the following measures:

• Employ sufficient staff to keep an eye on merchandise, especially during peak periods, so that the store is not left unattended.
• Adopt a service approach towards loss prevention. Should staff detect suspicious persons in the shop, they should pay more attention to them.
• 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.
• Install Closed Circuit Televsion cameras at the entrance and exit of the store. Do ensure that the cameras are regularly serviced and in good working condition.
• Expensive items displayed should be locked.
• Install convex mirrors to cover blind corners.
• Install an Electronic Article Surveillance System and adopt "double tagging" for high value merchandises. This means to use both overt and covert tags.

stephluo@sph.com.sg