An Indian-origin woman living in Australia was fined SGD 750 in Singapore on April 11 for stealing a bottle of perfume from Changi Airport two years ago.
As per reports, Varsha Raj, 35, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft in court. She had taken a bottle of Chanel perfume worth almost SGD 250 from a duty-free store in the airport’s Terminal 1 on March 22, 2023.
On that day, Raj arrived in Singapore from Australia with her family early in the morning. Around 4.10 am, she entered The Shilla Duty Free store in the departure transit area. She took the perfume and quietly put it inside her bag without paying.
A security staff member later realised that the perfume was missing and informed the shop employees. Soon after, Raj found out that the theft had been noticed and left the store without buying the item. She flew to Thailand with her family at 9.10 am that same day.
The store supervisor later checked the CCTV footage and informed the Airport Police Division. After two years, Raj returned to Singapore from India on March 31, 2025. She was detained by officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, who then handed the case over to the police.
During questioning, she admitted to the offence and said she had given the stolen perfume to her mother as a gift.
Appearing in court without a lawyer, Raj was in tears as she faced District Judge A. Sangeetha. She told the judge that she was deeply sorry and was not in the right frame of mind at the time of the incident. She also said that she had never been in trouble with the law before and fully accepted her mistake. Raj has since paid back the full amount to the store.
According to Singapore law, anyone found guilty of theft can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
