Video of alleged supermarket thieves in action making rounds on social media

DSP Azmir showing reporters the CCTV recording video of the incident in Putatan.

KOTA KINABALU: A CCTV footage showing a group of people casually carting away sundry items from a supermarket in Putatan near here is being circulated on social media.

The less than 12-minute recording showed several men and women allegedly entering the shop in turns, on the pretence of searching for goods, but ended up leaving with baskets and packets of items.

The alleged thefts took place at about 8.30pm on Feb 21 without the presence of a security guard. 

Penampang district police chief Deputy Supt Azmir Abdul Razak said on Thursday that investigations into the video came after a supervisor of the cooperative-run supermarket lodged a police report three days after the incident.

“Initial investigations found that one of the ‘shoppers’ had kept the shopkeeper occupied by asking a lot of questions about the goods, while the others took turns to steal,” he said.

“The supervisor only lodged a police report on Feb 24 after listing down the missing items which consisted mostly of shampoos,” he said.

DSP Azmir said the police were now searching for five women and two men to facilitate investigations into the case.