A 51-year-old Singaporean woman stole 19 bottles of wine worth about S$556 over seven occasions in September 2025.

She was sentenced on May 12, 2026 to eight days' jail, after she was identified by facial recognition technology at supermarket chain Sheng Siong.

Catherine Tan Li Eng pleaded guilty to one count of theft, CNA reported.

How system works

Sheng Siong had previously rolled out its artificial intelligence-driven facial recognition CCTV system in April 2024.

In 2025, the supermarket chain announced that it would be rolling out the system at all 83 outlets to curb the rising number of shop thefts.

Staff would review CCTV footage to confirm theft when stock and inventory discrepancies are detected.

When a suspect is identified, their photograph would be uploaded into the system.

Staff would then receive mobile alerts through a corporate app once the same person enters any Sheng Siong branch again.

Staff may approach the person and file a police report if they are sure the person has committed shop theft.

Stole 19 bottles of wine

Charge sheets seen by Mothership stated that on seven separate occasions between Sep. 2, 2025 and Sep. 11, 2025, Tan visited a Sheng Siong supermarket at 622D Punggol Central.

She stole a total of 19 bottles of Jacob's Creek wine collectively worth about S$556.

A supermarket staff member then found on Sep. 10, 2025 that there were discrepancies in the inventory, and notified retail manager Tey Soon Yao, CNA reported.

Upon reviewing CCTV footage, they saw Tan with three bags at the wine section.

After placing three bottles of Jacob's Creek wine into one of the bags, Tan left and returned minutes later to take another bottle.

Based on CCTV footage, Tan headed for the self-checkout kiosk and scanned only smaller value items but not the Jacob's Creek wine bottles, CNA reported.

When staff reviewed previous CCTV recordings, they found that Tan had committed theft on other occasions.

Face uploaded into system

CNA reported that after a Sheng Siong staff member uploaded Tan's face into the security system, Tan returned to the supermarket a day later.

Tey was present when he received a mobile phone alert about Tan's entry.

Tey then intercepted Tan at the self-checkout kiosk, asking if she had paid for all her items.

Despite Tan saying she had done so, Tey discovered three bottles of wine in an inspection of her bags that Tan did not scan, according to CNA.

Tey then called the police.

He also recovered three bottles of wine Tan had with her.

Penalties

Tan's defence lawyer, T M Sinnadurai sought one to two days' jail for Tan.

He said that Tan was her mother's and intellectually disabled cousin's sole caregiver, according to CNA.

Her lawyer added that she regretted the offences and made full restitution of about S$470 for the remaining stolen bottles.

CNA reported that the district said the amount in this case was "not insignificant", adding that since Tan's charge was amalgamated and included multiple instances of theft, the maximum jail term is six years.

"It being an amalgamated charge does signal to me the higher criminality," said the judge, noting that the defence's proposed jail term was "too low and not appropriate".

For theft, Tan could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.

As her charge included multiple instances, she faced up to double these penalties.