SINGAPORE – While waiting for his flight to Maldives, a man went on a shoplifting spree in Changi Airport and stole almost S$3,500 (US$2,689) worth of items from multiple shops.
Aaron Gary Slater (pic), 45, was sentenced to 10 days’ jail on Oct 31 after pleading guilty to three theft charges.
The offences took place on Sept 2, while the Australian was in transit at Terminal 2 of Changi Airport after flying in from Melbourne.
At around 7.30pm that day, he entered Tumi, a store selling travel products, took one piece of blue Tumi luggage valued at S$1,045 from the shelf, and left the store without making payment.
His act was captured on the store’s CCTV.
That evening, he also stole one pink Victoria’s Secret pyjamas set worth S$113, two pairs of Oakley sunglasses worth more than S$340 each, one pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses worth S$365, one brown Adidas bag worth S$81 and one Starbucks tumbler worth S$52.
Other items he stole included a luggage tag, five bracelets and a black Hard Rock Cafe cap.
He was caught after a sales assistant at the Ray-Ban store reported a theft. He was spotted at the departure transit by airport security and the items he stole were found on him.
Investigations further revealed that on July 28, while Slater was in transit in Singapore, he had taken a black Tumi sling bag worth more than S$600 from a display shelf and left the store without paying for it.
A store employee who saw what he did chased after him, took back the sling bag and placed it back onto the shelf. A police report was not made on this matter then.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Tania Chin sought three days’ jail for Slater, noting: “He has been stuck in Singapore with no family support and has not been able to work during this period.”
Those who commit theft in dwelling can be jailed for up to seven years and are liable to a fine.
There were 2,097 shop theft cases in the first half of 2025, up from 2,013 cases from the same period in 2024.
Shop theft was the most common physical crime in 2024, with 4,237 cases – a 7.6 per cent increase from 3,939 cases in 2023. - The Straits Times/ANN
