Woman caught by Sheng Siong's facial recognition system stealing 19 bottles of wine gets 8 days' jail
A woman who stole 19 bottles of wine from a Sheng Siong outlet pleaded guilty to an amalgamated charge of theft and was sentenced to eight days' jail on Tuesday (May 12).An amalgamated charge is a combined charge consisting multiple instances of similar offences put into a single charge, which can result in heavier penalties.Catherine Tan Li Eng, 51, a salesperson, was flagged by the supermarket's facial recognition system after she had committed theft across seven separate occasions between Sept 2 and Sept 11 last year.She had frequented the outlet at 622D Punggol Central and stole 19 bottles of Jacob's Creek wine, with price ranging from $28.52 to $85.56.In total, they were valued at more than $555, according to the charge sheet.Sheng Siong discovered the theft following an inventory check on Sept 10, 2025. Staff then reviewed security camera footage and saw Tan leave the outlet without paying for bottles that she put in a reusable bag, The Straits Times reported.She had used the self-checkout kiosk to scan items of less value, but did not scan the bottles, CNA reported.