2 women shoplift at Sheng Siong outlets, caught using supermarket's facial recognition CCTV

Two serial shoplifters at different Sheng Siong outlets were caught after store managers were alerted via the supermarket's recently-installed facial recognition CCTV (FR CCTV).

The two shoplifters, aged 50 and 69, are among 10 people who will be charged on Nov. 20 for their suspected involvement in separate cases of shop theft.

Facial recognition

According to a Singapore Police Force (SPF) news release, on Sep. 11, 2025, a 50-year-old woman allegedly stole three bottles of red wine, amounting to about S$86 from a Sheng Siong outlet in Punggol Central.

A store manager immediately recognised her following an alert from Sheng Siong's FR CCTV technology.

She was detained while attempting to leave without making payment and was subsequently arrested by the police.

Further investigations revealed that the woman was also allegedly involved in earlier cases of shop theft at the same outlet between Sep. 2 and 11.

She allegedly stole 19 bottles of red wine, amounting to about S$556, in that period.

In a separate case, between May 27 and Aug. 12, 2025, a 44-year-old woman allegedly stole several items, amounting to about S$90, from a Sheng Siong outlet along Sin Ming Avenue.

She was detained on Oct. 1 by a store manager after an alert from the supermarket's FR CCTV, and later arrested by the police.

Two out of 10 identified through FR CCTVs

Earlier in August, Sheng Siong announced that it would roll out FR CCTVs at 83 of its outlets to curb shop theft.

It was deployed in collaboration with the SPF under its Shop Theft for Retailers (STAR) Programme, an initiative to improve detection and reduce retail crime.

While two of the 10 cases were identified through FR CCTVs, the remainder were detected by vigilant staff or loss prevention officers, SPF said.

In one case, a 67-year-old man allegedly stole 20 cans of beer, amounting to S$60, from an NTUC outlet along Clementi Avenue 3 on Aug. 15.

He was identified through follow-up investigations and with the aid of images from police cameras.

Apart from FR CCTVs, retailers have also deployed measures such as regular stock takes to detect patterns of missing inventory.

"The police will continue to work closely with stakeholders and the community to prevent and deter shop theft cases," it added.

SPF also reminded retailers to be prepared for increased shopping activity during the end-year school holidays period and to remain vigilant against thieves.

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