Australian man, 37 & American man, 50, to be charged for allegedly stealing perfume bottles at Changi Airport

An Australian man, 37, and an American man, 50, will be charged in court on Aug. 17 for two separate cases of shop theft at Changi Airport.

Both thefts, involving perfume bottles, were committed at the transit areas of Terminal 1 and 2, the police said in a news release.

First case

The Australian man had allegedly committed the theft at the transit area of Terminal 2 on Nov. 19, 2025.

The police said they were alerted to the case at about 6:45pm after a retail assistant noticed two boxes of perfumes missing from the display shelf.

A review of the CCTV footage showed the man allegedly taking the two boxes of perfumes, valued at about S$430, at 4:50pm before leaving without making payment.

When the Airport police identified him, they found that he had already departed Singapore.

He returned to Changi Airport on Aug. 4 while in transit and was arrested.

Second case

The alleged theft by the American man was committed at the transit area of Terminal 1 on Aug. 5.

Police said they were alerted to the case at about 1:25am after a retail assistant noticed that a box of perfume was missing from the display shelf of their store.

CCTV footage showed that the man allegedly took one box of perfume, valued at S$310, at about 12:40am and left without making payment.

He was located and arrested by airport police officers before he could board his flight.

Further review of the CCTV footage also found that he had stolen another box of perfumes, valued at about S$170, and one bottle of perfume tester, valued at more than S$230, from two other retail stores in the transit area.

In total, the stolen items were worth about S$717.

Both men will be charged in court on Aug. 17 for theft.

If found guilty, they could face up to seven years' jail, a fine, or both.