JOHOR BARU: Police arrested a husband and wife for allegedly stealing various items including 15 tins of baby milk powder from a supermarket in Southkey here last night.
Johor Baru South district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shahurinain Jais said the suspects aged 53 and 49 years, respectively from Senai, near Kulai for stealing 15 tins of baby milk powder of various brands, two bottles of vitamins, and seven boxes of chicken essence.
He said the incident, which occurred at 7.40pm, was realised by the mall’s security guard while patrolling at the parking lot when he observed a man who was in a hurry to push a baby stroller into the car at the carpark.
“The guard then stopped the man and asked to provide the purchase receipt, which the man failed to do so. Further checks found the stolen items in the car booth of the Proton Perdana car,” he said in a statement here today.
According to Shahurinain, both suspects tried to escape but the husband was caught in the car park while the wife was later detained inside the shopping mall.
He added the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured the act of theft by the suspects.
“The footage shows the husband was pretending to push the baby stroller while the wife was in the shop to relocate the stolen items to a place where there was no staff.
“The wife then put the items in the stroller and the husband left the mall to put the stolen goods in the car. The wife pretended like not wanting to purchase and left the shop,” he added.
Police also seized a black stroller used for stealing purposes, he said, adding the suspects, who admitted their crime, also revealed that this was the second time they had stolen such items.
The husband and wife also claimed that their unemployment drove them to steal as they could sell the stolen items to make money.
Shahurinain said the man had previous criminal records related to thefts in 2011 and 2013. The case is being investigated under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft. — Bernama
