Man to be charged over series of perfume thefts at Changi Airport

SINGAPORE: A 47-year-old man will be charged on Thursday (Oct 8) over a series of perfume thefts at Changi Airport dating back to November last year.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they were alerted to the first theft on Nov 5, 2025, after a retail assistant discovered that a box of perfume was missing from a shop's display shelf.

Closed-circuit television footage showed that the American had stolen a box of perfume valued at S$331 (US$259) from the shop in Changi Airport's Terminal 3 transit area at about 7.38pm on Nov 4, 2025, SPF said in a news release on Wednesday.

Further investigations revealed that he stole three more boxes of perfume, which were worth S$646 in total, from two shops in the Terminal 2 transit area later that day, the police said.

Officers from the Airport Police Division managed to identify the man, but he had already departed Singapore, they added. 

The man returned to Changi Airport for a connecting flight on the morning of Apr 24 this year. According to preliminary investigations, he stole two more boxes of perfume from two shops on this occasion, SPF said.

The first box he stole at about 7.15am was priced at S$236.90 and the second one taken around six minutes later was valued at S$195.40, said the police.

The six items the man allegedly stole had a total value of almost S$1,410.

The man left Singapore after the second round of alleged thefts but was arrested on Sep 25 while transiting through the airport again.

He will be charged on Thursday with five counts of theft in dwelling.

Those convicted of the offence face up to seven years' jail, a fine or both.