Woman who stole 19 bottles of wine caught by Sheng Siong’s facial recognition system

While Tan began her spree on Sept 2, 2025, the supermarket only discovered the missing bottles during an inventory check on Sept 10, 2025.

The staff then reviewed security camera footage and saw Tan leaving the supermarket earlier that day without paying for the bottles of wine she had placed in a reusable bag.

They used the footage to flag her face in the facial recognition system, which then automatically identified the other instances when she had stolen wine.

The supermarket chain has been using the technology since April 2024.

By flagging Tan’s face in the system, it would also prompt the store managers should she visit any Sheng Siong outlet again.

This happened when she visited the same outlet at noon the next day, Sept 11, 2025.

She was intercepted by staff, who checked her bags as she was leaving and found that she had stolen another three bottles of wine.

The police were called and Tan was arrested.

She has made full restitution for the stolen bottles of wine. Her motive for stealing the items was not mentioned in court.

For the amalgamated theft charge, she could have been jailed for up to six years and fined.