While in transit at Changi Airport, a dentist went to two stores to steal a luxury brand card holder and a bottle of perfume, which together cost more than $750. His engineer wife kept a lookout during one such incident.
American nationals Kapadia Husain Zoher, 35, and Kapadia Amatullah, 30, committed the offences while they were waiting for their connecting flight to India on June 23.
The married couple managed to board the Mumbai-bound plane but were caught before it took off.
On Aug 4, he was sentenced to 18 days’ jail after he pleaded guilty to a theft charge.
His wife, who pleaded guilty to a similar charge, was sentenced to a week in jail.
At around 5pm on June 23, Kapadia Husain Zoher entered a Louis Vuitton store at the airport’s Terminal 1, said State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Ng Chee Wee.
The offender then took a card case holder worth around $600, slipped it into his pocket and left without paying for it.
CCTV cameras inside the store caught him committing the offence, the court heard.
The couple then went to Cosmetics & Perfumes by The Shilla at the airport’s Terminal 3 shortly before 5.40pm that day.
Kapadia Husain Zoher then took a bottle of Dior Sauvage perfume worth around $160 and slipped it into his pocket, while his wife acted as a lookout. They left the scene soon after without paying for it.
A CCTV camera inside the store also caught him stealing the item.
The police were notified and officers managed to establish his identity.
SPO Ng said: “(Kapadia Husain Zoher) had stolen the case holder out of greed. He had a habit of overspending, and he did not want to pay for the case holder.”
Both stolen items were recovered and returned to the respective stores.
For each count of theft, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.
Shaffiq Alkhatib for The Straits Times
Dentist and engineer wife jailed over shop theft at Changi Airport
