An American dentist and his engineer wife spent weeks behind bars after being caught red-handed stealing luxury items in notoriously strict Singapore.
The pair, Husain Zoher Kapadia, 35, and Amatullah Kapadia, 30, were arrested on June 23 after stealing from designer shops at Changi Airport.
Authorities said the couple, who are both US nationals, stole more than $750 of upmarket items from Louis Vuitton and Dior at the airport before trying to board their jet.
They made it to their seats on a flight set for Mumbai before airport police hauled them away.
Cops said that CCTV from inside the airport captured the couple in the act, and both were swiftly prosecuted and subsequently pleaded guilty to theft.
Kapadia was handed an 18-day jail sentence, and his wife was sentenced to a week behind bars for the brazen shoplifting.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Ng Chee Wee argued at their sentencing that Kapadia had stolen out of greed.
‘He had a habit of overspending, and he did not want to pay,’ the prosecutor said.
Authorities said the couple’s shoplifting spree began around 5 pm after they entered Changi Airport’s Terminal 1.
They were seen on CCTV targeting a Louis Vuitton store first, where Kapadia stole a credit card holder worth $600.
The couple then moved to Terminal 3 around 5:40 pm and went to Cosmetics & Perfumes by The Shilla, a designer store.
Kapadia then took a bottle of Dior Sauvage perfume worth around $160 and slipped it into his pocket, with prosecutors saying he had his wife act as a lookout.
According to an image of Kapadia at his dentistry practice, he works at a clinic in Houston, Texas.
He and his wife got off lightly for their stealing frenzy.
Singapore has one of the world’s lowest crime rates thanks to draconian laws that outlaw chewing gum, e-cigarettes and the failure to flush a public toilet.
People caught taking drugs face lengthy prison sentences and 24 strokes with a cane.
Anyone caught dealing illegal substances is executed.
It’s shocking how people with successful careers—a dentist and an engineer—could risk everything over a few luxury items. This just shows that status doesn’t always equal integrity. Actions truly speak louder than titles.