80 milk powder theft cases reported in 2022, 40% of offenders prosecuted in court: Police

SINGAPORE — A total of 80 milk powder theft cases were recorded last year, an increase compared to 2020, though the number of cases had dropped slightly from 2021, the police said.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the police said on Wednesday (Jan 25) that there were 96 milk powder theft cases recorded in 2021 and 73 cases in 2020.

The majority of the offenders were in their 20s and 40s, and about 35 per cent of the cases were committed in groups of two or more.

The police added that about 39 per cent of the cases were taken to court and offenders faced charges of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code.

Last week, Mr Murali Pillai, a People’s Action Party Member of Parliament (MP), spoke about milk powder thefts on Facebook, following a viral online post about supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice locking milk powder behind shelves to prevent thefts.

The viral image was from the supermarket's outlet at Bukit Batok MRT Station and FairPrice said later that it started the trial at that outlet because infant formula is “a common item that is typically shoplifted”.

Mr Pillai, who is MP of Bukit Batok, said on Facebook that the “typical shoplifters” were milk powder resellers who intended “to make a profit”.

The police did not elaborate how many tins of milk powder were stolen in each of the cases in recent years. 

Nevertheless, the police said the estimated monetary losses from the thefts at retailers were about S$27,000 in 2022.

In 2021, the losses were about S$26,000 and in 2020, S$18,000.