S'porean man, 57, allegedly stole S$1,000 from stall owner, 75, at Old Airport Road food centre

A Singaporean man allegedly stole S$1,000 in cash and several packs of cigarettes from under the nose of an elderly stall owner at Old Airport Road Food Centre.

The 57-year-old man, Kamsani bin Abdullah, was arrested on Dec. 4 over a theft case at a different stall in the food centre.

He was on a prison remission order at the time of the offences.

He stole S$1,000 in cash: Stall owner

According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, Kamsani is alleged to have stolen S$1,000 at a provision stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre around noon on Aug. 19.

The 75-year-old stall owner, surnamed Wu (transliteration) told Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) that she and her husband had been running the stall there for over 30 years.

They stored most of their cash in a drawer at the shop, and also kept some loose change in a plastic bucket.

Wu said that on Aug. 19, she was sitting outside the shop when a man entered, walked around, then left.

"I thought he was just browsing, so I didn't think much of it. But later, when some goods were delivered, my husband went to get money to pay and realised the cash in the drawer was missing," Wu told Shin Min.

Wu claimed that the thief stole S$1,000 from the drawer, as well as the loose change in the bucket and several packs of cigarettes.

The drawer was not locked at the time, she said.

When checking the store's CCTV footage, Wu and her husband identified a male suspect, and their daughter helped them call the police.

"Since then, I've kept my drawers locked," said Wu.

Arrested after second stall reported theft

Kamsani was also charged with stealing S$20 from a Muslim food stall at the hawker centre between 1:49am to 3:14am on Dec. 3.

Police said in a release that they were alerted to the theft at 7:20 am on the same day.

Officers from Bedok Police Division identified the suspect through ground enquiries and police camera footage.

The suspect was arrested the next day.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is also believed to be involved in other similar cases of theft in dwelling, police said.

Was on remission order

In addition to the theft cases at the food centre, Kamsani was also charged with stealing two pairs of shoes from a nearby Housing and Development Board (HDB) block close to midnight on Oct. 30, 2024.

He faces four other charges for disclosing his Singpass one-time-password (OTP) to a third party in November 2024.

All of the alleged offences took place while he was on a two-year remission order from prison from March 2024 to March 2026.

Kamsani has been in remand since Dec. 6.

His case is still before the courts.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News