Two more Indians jailed for conspiring to steal apparel from Singapore retail store

PTI, Dec 3, 2023, 3:00 PM IST

Two Indian nationals have been jailed in Singapore for conspiring to steal apparel worth over one lakh rupees from a retail store, days after four of their compatriots were sentenced to jail for the same crime.

Brahmbhatt Komal Chetankumar and Christian Arpita Arvindbhai, both 27, pleaded guilty to shoplifting offences after initially claiming that they had no intention to steal.

They were sentenced to 40 and 45 days in jail, respectively, and jailed on Friday, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

Komal and Arpita were on student passes in Singapore and lived with four other Indians. The group, along with other individuals, conspired to steal apparel together.

Three other Indian nationals were also involved in the conspiracy, two of whom planned to steal from the outlet and roped the rest into the plan.

Four of the group were sentenced to between 40 and 65 days in jail on November 22.

In October, the group went to the store and removed the price tags that contained radio-frequency identification (RFID). They contrived to steal the items without setting off the store’s security alarm, according to the report.

The group then bought tote bags at the self-checkout area and stuffed the apparel in the bags, pretending they had paid for all their items.

They stole 64 pieces of apparel worth SGD 1,788 in total.

The authorities were alerted to the conspiracy when a second group – including some members of the first group – attempted to steal SGD 2,271 worth of clothes from the same outlet days later, according to the report.

Police arrested them after trawling through CCTV camera footage.