Woman allegedly instructs girl to steal cigarettes from convenience store, then asks owner to check her bag to prove innocence

A woman allegedly brought a 4-year-old girl into a convenience shop at Block 121,Bedok Reservoir Road and instructed her to steal a pack of cigarettes.

The incident happened on Mar 16, 2017, at around 11am. 

The  girl turned tail and ran after taking the pack, while the woman tried to leave the premises under the pretence of needing to draw money. 

When she was stopped by the shopkeeper, the woman blatantly insisted that she had not stolen anything and even invited him to check the contents of her bag -- not realising that the entire process was captured on CCTVs, reports Lianhe Wanbao via Lianhe Zaobao. 

CCTV footage revealed that the woman, dressed in hot pants and a tight white top had entered the store alongside a girl.

She knelt and spoke to the child, pointing at the exit.

The woman then proceeded to buy a pack of cigarettes, handing the child the pack before paying for it. 

The girl, upon receiving the pack, ran towards the exit, while the woman took out a credit card to pay for the pack. 

Said the shopkeeper:

“Her card could not be used, and she didn’t have the money on her.

“She then ran out of the store, telling me that she needed to draw money from an ATM.”

The shopkeeper gave chase and stopped her from leaving.

The pair then returned to the store where the woman blatantly denied stealing anything, emptying the contents of her bag to ‘prove her innocence’. 

The shopkeeper added:

“She had the cheek to tell me that she did not take the cigarettes and asked me to search her bag.

“Why would the pack be there?
“The  girl had already ran off with it!”

The shopkeeper lamented:

“It’s already bad that she cheated us, but she preyed on a child’s innocence and ask her to commit a crime.

“This is just terrible.”