Man tries to attack guard
By Rennie Whang
The New Paper
Friday, Mar 08, 2013
SINGAPORE - It was supposed to be a quiet evening for sales assistant Marie Lim.
Her bakery outlet in The Centrepoint's Cold Storage supermarket was due to close in about an hour's time, when she heard the loud crash of glass breaking.
Metres from her, the supermarket's in-house security officer suddenly came running across the aisles.
Hot on his heels was a bare-chested man wielding a laptop-sized piece of glass.
"(The man) looked like he wanted to fight," said Mrs Lim, who is in her 40s.
"My colleague and I were very scared. We went in and out of the back room, unsure if we should hide. I was so worried he would come up to our glass display here."
The incident happened on Monday at about 9pm, as a suspected shoplifter was confronted by the security officer.
The officer had asked the man, suspected to have tried to shoplift some groceries from the supermarket, to follow him to the office at the back of the store.
But along the way, the suspect allegedly turned violent, grabbing items such as food and a bar pole, and using them as weapons against the officer.
A helper at a nearby shop, who wanted to be known as Mel, in his 30s, said he saw the two struggling near a Jollibean counter, adjacent to the supermarket's check-out points. The suspect had just tried to hit the officer with food items, he claimed, adding the Jollibean counter had just closed for the night.
"The man's body smashed against the (display) glass. Then he took the glass and tried to attack the officer.
"The officer backed off, and the man chased him with a bar pole (used to hold plastic bags)."
Disappeared
The two then disappeared into the deli, which is located inside the supermarket, eyewitnesses said.
At the same time, the officer called the mall security for reinforcement, and dialled the police.
Another helper at a nearby shop, Ms Silvia Loi, 44, said the man knocked over shelves of goods - snacks and about 10 bottles of red wine - as he ran.
She added she saw two small cans of food, two oranges and a 1-litre bottle of Evian water spill out from a red plastic bag the man was carrying.
The shop's customers mostly ran away, though some families with young kids also stood there staring, she said.
Mrs Lim said that the man, who had run into the deli, suddenly emerged with a black T-shirt on.
"He seemed to be taking the opportunity to run off."
Just then, three security personnel from the mall entered the supermarket. Working with the in-house officer, they pinned down the suspect.
"The man didn't say anything, but he was struggling all the way," said Ms Loi.
The police arrived at about 9.30pm and arrested the 44-year-old man for shop theft.
An ambulance arrived as well, but assistance was not required, a Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said.
A Dairy Farm Singapore spokesman said Cold Storage has loss prevention officers who make their rounds in all the outlets, but they are not attached to any particular outlet. They also engage third-party security services to perform loss prevention duties.
At the time of the incident, one security officer from a third-party contractor was attached to the outlet, she said.
"Our security officers... are licensed by the Police Licensing Regulatory Department and are equipped with basic security skills and knowledge," she said.
"However, in such situations where the suspect is armed, our security officers will try to avoid direct confrontation as that may cause the suspect to be further antagonised... so as to lessen the risk of endangering shoppers and staff.
"They are required to call the police immediately and seek assistance."
She estimated damage costs to be about $1,500.
Sales assistants said shoplifting at the supermarket was rare, with just one or two cases happening this year.
"We've never had a case like this. We were all shocked and screaming," said Mrs Lim.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
A suspected shoplifter caused a commotion at a Cold Storage supermarket at The Centrepoint on Monday night when he shattered a glass panel and used one of the broken pieces to threaten security guards.
The man, said to be small-built and in his mid-30s, was eventually restrained and arrested.
Witnesses told The Straits Times that the suspect was walking around shirtless, holding an orange plastic bag containing oranges, canned food and a bottle of mineral water that he had taken from the shelves.
After putting his shirt back on, he was detained by the supermarket's staff.
Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao said he broke free soon after, and used his plastic bag to break the glass counter of a Jollibean outlet near the entrance of the supermarket.
He reportedly picked up one of the glass shards and used it to threaten security officers in a brief stand-off.
When contacted, the mall's management confirmed that their security team received a call for assistance from the supermarket at 8.50pm.
By Rennie Whang
The New Paper
Friday, Mar 08, 2013
SINGAPORE - It was supposed to be a quiet evening for sales assistant Marie Lim.
Her bakery outlet in The Centrepoint's Cold Storage supermarket was due to close in about an hour's time, when she heard the loud crash of glass breaking.
Metres from her, the supermarket's in-house security officer suddenly came running across the aisles.
Hot on his heels was a bare-chested man wielding a laptop-sized piece of glass.
"(The man) looked like he wanted to fight," said Mrs Lim, who is in her 40s.
"My colleague and I were very scared. We went in and out of the back room, unsure if we should hide. I was so worried he would come up to our glass display here."
The incident happened on Monday at about 9pm, as a suspected shoplifter was confronted by the security officer.
The officer had asked the man, suspected to have tried to shoplift some groceries from the supermarket, to follow him to the office at the back of the store.
But along the way, the suspect allegedly turned violent, grabbing items such as food and a bar pole, and using them as weapons against the officer.
A helper at a nearby shop, who wanted to be known as Mel, in his 30s, said he saw the two struggling near a Jollibean counter, adjacent to the supermarket's check-out points. The suspect had just tried to hit the officer with food items, he claimed, adding the Jollibean counter had just closed for the night.
"The man's body smashed against the (display) glass. Then he took the glass and tried to attack the officer.
"The officer backed off, and the man chased him with a bar pole (used to hold plastic bags)."
Disappeared
The two then disappeared into the deli, which is located inside the supermarket, eyewitnesses said.
At the same time, the officer called the mall security for reinforcement, and dialled the police.
Another helper at a nearby shop, Ms Silvia Loi, 44, said the man knocked over shelves of goods - snacks and about 10 bottles of red wine - as he ran.
She added she saw two small cans of food, two oranges and a 1-litre bottle of Evian water spill out from a red plastic bag the man was carrying.
The shop's customers mostly ran away, though some families with young kids also stood there staring, she said.
Mrs Lim said that the man, who had run into the deli, suddenly emerged with a black T-shirt on.
"He seemed to be taking the opportunity to run off."
Just then, three security personnel from the mall entered the supermarket. Working with the in-house officer, they pinned down the suspect.
"The man didn't say anything, but he was struggling all the way," said Ms Loi.
The police arrived at about 9.30pm and arrested the 44-year-old man for shop theft.
An ambulance arrived as well, but assistance was not required, a Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said.
A Dairy Farm Singapore spokesman said Cold Storage has loss prevention officers who make their rounds in all the outlets, but they are not attached to any particular outlet. They also engage third-party security services to perform loss prevention duties.
At the time of the incident, one security officer from a third-party contractor was attached to the outlet, she said.
"Our security officers... are licensed by the Police Licensing Regulatory Department and are equipped with basic security skills and knowledge," she said.
"However, in such situations where the suspect is armed, our security officers will try to avoid direct confrontation as that may cause the suspect to be further antagonised... so as to lessen the risk of endangering shoppers and staff.
"They are required to call the police immediately and seek assistance."
She estimated damage costs to be about $1,500.
Sales assistants said shoplifting at the supermarket was rare, with just one or two cases happening this year.
"We've never had a case like this. We were all shocked and screaming," said Mrs Lim.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
A suspected shoplifter caused a commotion at a Cold Storage supermarket at The Centrepoint on Monday night when he shattered a glass panel and used one of the broken pieces to threaten security guards.
The man, said to be small-built and in his mid-30s, was eventually restrained and arrested.
Witnesses told The Straits Times that the suspect was walking around shirtless, holding an orange plastic bag containing oranges, canned food and a bottle of mineral water that he had taken from the shelves.
After putting his shirt back on, he was detained by the supermarket's staff.
Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao said he broke free soon after, and used his plastic bag to break the glass counter of a Jollibean outlet near the entrance of the supermarket.
He reportedly picked up one of the glass shards and used it to threaten security officers in a brief stand-off.
When contacted, the mall's management confirmed that their security team received a call for assistance from the supermarket at 8.50pm.
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