SINGAPORE – A prison officer was at a supermarket in Circuit Road when he stole four boxes of lozenges worth $21.46 on June 28, 2024.

Eddie Tan Kyim Hiong, 47, was fined $300 on May 7 after he pleaded guilty to a theft charge.

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) told The Straits Times that it had redeployed Tan to “non-sensitive administrative duties” while the police were investigating his case before he resigned on March 1.

On May 8, an SPS spokesperson said: “(We take) a serious view of any misconduct by our officers. All prison officers are expected to uphold exemplary standards of integrity, discipline, and personal conduct.

“Those who commit offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min told the court that Tan had entered a Sheng Siong outlet while carrying a pouch at around 7.30pm on June 28, 2024.

One of the store’s retail assistants noticed that Eddie Tan was behaving suspiciously and decided to keep on eye on him.

Eddie Tan then placed the four boxes of lozenges into his pouch before he walked to the fruit section and took some apples. He paid for the apples and left the supermarket soon after.

The DPP said: “(The retail assistant) immediately checked the receipt of the accused’s purchase and saw that he did not pay for the lozenges.

“(He) then followed the accused and stopped him a distance away from Sheng Siong. The four boxes of lozenges were recovered.”

The police were alerted shortly before 7.50pm that day.

For theft, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.

Shop theft was one of the physical crimes of concern in 2024.

Announcing their annual physical crime statistics for that year, police said in February that there were a total of 19,969 reported cases of physical crime, up by three cases from the 19,966 in 2023.

Shop theft was the most common physical crime, accounting for more than 21 per cent of the total number, with cases increasing by 7.6 per cent from 3,939 in 2023 to 4,237 in 2024.

According to the police, the increase in reported cases was likely due to more widespread use of security cameras in stores.

• Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.