What looked like a slow business turned out to be something much worse for a mini-mart in Jurong West.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the manager first noticed sales dipping in April last year and assumed it was due to fewer customers.
But by September, something didn’t add up, the drop only happened on certain days.
After checking the pattern, he realised the shortfall occurred whenever one particular cashier was on duty, with daily takings falling by about S$600 to S$700 (RM1,900–RM2,200 approximately).
Suspicious, the manager reviewed CCTV footage taken between Sept 30 and Oct 27.
The videos revealed the truth: whenever customers paid in cash, the cashier would return the change and then slip the remaining cash into a drawer next to the register.
Before leaving, she would pocket the money and walk out as if nothing happened.
When confronted, the woman admitted she had been stealing since April 2023, taking between S$500 and S$600 (RM1,600–RM2,000) each shift.
She promised to return the money but never did, leading the manager to lodge a police report. She was later dismissed from her job.
Investigations showed she deposited S$56,797 (about RM180,000) into her bank account during the theft period.
She confessed that the entire sum came from the store and that most of it was spent on online gambling.
On July 14, she was sentenced to 17 months in jail after pleading guilty to one charge of criminal breach of trust. Another charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.
