By taking the price tags off the clothing, a group of international students planned to steal around $1,700 worth of merchandise from Uniqlo.
By removing the radio-frequency identification (RFID) from the price tags, they managed to pilfer the goods without activating the store’s security system.
After that, they pretended to have paid for all their purchases after purchasing tote bags at the self-checkout counter and packing the clothing inside them.
On November 22, the four Indian nationals who were apprehended—Shihora Ridham Mukeshbhai, 20, Hun Smit Ashokbhai, 21, Kuvadiya Milan Ghansyambhai, 26, and Chauhan Ruchi Sanjaykumar, 25—were given prison terms ranging from 40 to 65 days. In Singapore, the four shoplifters had student passes. Even though they attended different schools, they shared a flat.
Ridham, the youngest, entered a guilty plea to one charge of theft in a residence and another charge of attempting to conduct a comparable offense. He received the harshest punishment.
The other three acknowledged having committed one theft or attempted theft in their homes. Sentence consideration was given to other related charges. Maximilian Chew, the deputy public prosecutor, informed the court that one shoplifting incident occurred at the Uniqlo store in Orchard Central on October 12.
Three other Indian nationals, Darshan, 22, Bhavik, 24, and Vishal, 23, were allegedly involved in the scheme, according to court documents. Vishal and Bhavik organized a heist from the outlet and enlisted the help of others.
That day, at 6:00 p.m., the group headed to the store. They selected the clothing and took off the price tags. Next, they proceeded to the self-checkout section and purchased three $3.90 tote bags so they could retain the clothing.
At about 7:30 p.m., the group departed. They took 64 articles of clothing, totaling $1,788 in value. Four days later, Ruchi and Ridham went to the same Uniqlo store as Bhavik and three other Indian nationals, Shivam, 27, Jay, 26, and Mili, 27.
They went through the same shoplifting routine, but as they rapidly packed the clothing into the tote bags at the self-checkout area, an employee of the store observed and demanded a receipt as evidence of payment.
Lying that the receipt was with their friend somewhere else, Ridham turned and left. Alongside him was Shivam, who likewise hurried off, leaving the clothing in the tote bags behind.
A total of 72 articles worth $2,271 were nearly taken by them.
A police report was later filed by a sales assistant. Following a review of footage from closed-circuit television cameras, police made an arrest.
Bhavik, Vishal, Darshan, and Mili had already departed from Singapore by this point.
DPP Chew stated that the thefts were intentional and planned and that the valuables taken were substantial. He mentioned that no reparations were made by the accused.
When viewed through a video link during their detention, all four of the shoplifters pointed fingers at Bhavik, claiming he was the mastermind.
Milan and Hun Smit alleged Bhavik threatened to raise their room rental or expel them, leaving them with nowhere to go if they disobeyed his orders.
However, they acknowledged that they were breaking the law.
Brahmbhatt Komal Chetankumar and Christian Arpita Arvindbhai, two additional 27-year-old female Indian nationals in the group, were also due to enter guilty pleas for the same offense on November 22.
They denied having any intention of stealing, placing the responsibility on Bhavik.
Their plea of guilty was denied by District Judge Teoh Ai Lin, who set a pre-trial meeting for November 30.
