S’pore student allegedly steals cameras worth S$393 from Haji Lane shop, later identified by schoolmates

Two digital cameras worth a total of S$393 were allegedly stolen from Digicam Diaries at 36 Haji Lane at around 7:40pm on Oct. 4.

The shop had initially posted CCTV footage on social media of the incident. Footage included a girl and boy entering the shop, and the back view of the girl in the area where the aforementioned cameras were.

Digicam Diaries said several people, whom it described as the girl’s schoolmates, identified the girl from the footage and provided her contact number.

The girl has since paid for both cameras via PayNow.

Discovered during closing inventory count

Speaking to Mothership, a Digicam Diaries spokesperson said its staff first noticed the cameras were missing at around 8pm while conducting their closing inventory count.

The shop said its team counts the cameras before and after each shift. That evening, two were unaccounted for: a pink Sony Cyber-shot T77 priced at S$208 and a white Panasonic Lumix XS1 priced at S$185.

Digicam Diaries' staff went on to review the store's CCTV footage to establish what had happened.

Alleged thief identified by schoolmates

Digicam Diaries posted clips of the alleged theft on their social media accounts, asking the involved individuals to come forward and make amends.

Following the shop’s online appeal, several people whom the spokesperson described as the girl’s schoolmates identified her and provided her contact number.

The shop said the girl initially denied taking the cameras and claimed their price tags showed lower amounts than the prices the shop had set.

She subsequently paid the shop for the cameras via PayNow, the spokesperson said.

Police report lodged that night

Digicam Diaries said it lodged a police report at around 10pm on Oct. 4.

According to the shop, an officer responded promptly and remained in contact with its team until midnight.

The spokesperson added that police had advised them to take down the CCTV video from their social media pages while investigations were ongoing.

The police confirmed with Mothership that a report had been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Shop urges people not to shoplift

Digicam Diaries said they had experienced shoplifting before but always caught it due to their "meticulous inventory log".

The shop urged people not to shoplift, particularly from small businesses.

“Shoplifting really harms small businesses,” it said, adding that it was also concerned about the impact such incidents could have on the futures of the young people involved.