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Three girl students were ordered to perform 240 hours of community service after stealing branded goods at a shopping mall. A housewife who pilfered several pieces of apparel valued at RM668.90 at a supermarket was jailed for three months. An Iranian tourist was fined RM1,200 and imprisoned for a day when she pleaded guilty to stealing two packs of socks, two boxes of men's briefs and one box of stockings, and two handbags.
Shoplifting is becoming rampant in Malaysia and other countries. The offender can be anybody -- a customer in wheelchair, a toddler, a teacher, an office or factory worker, a professional and even a celebrity.
Most of the thefts are not premeditated. The shoplifters may be anti-social or defiant, bored, depressed, or keen to obtain attention from spouses and parents. They may envy their neighbours and colleagues for things they cannot afford to buy, join friends in shoplifting for the fun of it, want to get back at stores they dislike, or enjoy the "rush" feeling.
The items they steal can be cheap or expensive -- cheese, meat, razors, batteries, cosmetics, perfumes, clothing and accessories, and toys. They are different from the professional or habitual shoplifters and drug addicts who look for high-end products such as mobile phones, alcohol, power tools and auto parts.
Malaysian retailers have reported a rising shrinkage of sales to the tune of RM409 million a year. The popular items stolen include lipsticks and glosses, health and beauty products, infant formula, clothing, alcohol and clothing. Owing to a spate of thefts, an increasing number of them have installed surveillance mirrors and CCTVs to detect the crime.
Elderly offenders
In Japan where 20 percent of its population is over the age of 65, a large number of the shoplifters are pensioners and senior citizens. As many as 27,000 elderly offenders are caught in one year. Annual retail losses caused by shoplifting amount to over US$9 billion, notching up the second highest rate of shoplifting in the world after the US.
Japanese retailers also have to grapple with "digital shoplifting", in which shoppers use cellular phones to snap pictures of new hairstyles and trendy clothes featured in magazines. Books stolen amount to US$21,250 a year.
The US is the shoplifters' paradise. Retailers lose US35 million in revenue daily or US$13 billion a year. Thirty million Americans or nearly 10 per cent of the population have engaged in shoplifting and over 1010 million have been caught in the last five years.
The offenders include politicians, actresses, sports personalities, doctors, nurses and police officers. Respectable, well-off customers commit the crime owing to some kind of loss, a need to fill a void, sickness, and unhappy relationships.
The four weeks leading up to Christmas are a nightmare for retailers. Myriad goods worth US1.8 billion are stolen during this period and thefts are also committed by employees.
US retailers spend nearly US$11.5 billion a year on surveillance and security systems to fend off losses. Six million video cameras are mounted in stores across the country. Shopping carts are fitted with electronic-fence technology with chips embedded in the wheels. Clothing tags with security ink, GPS navigational devices, pulsing monitors and metal foil detection gadgets are also employed.
In the UK, customers and dishonest employees pilfer an average of US$20 million worth of goods daily. Shoplifters often eye perfumes and cosmetics, face creams, cameras, fresh meat and alcohol.
Each year retailers across the world lose US$119 billion in annual takings owing to shoplifting. The losses were reduced slightly in recent years after retailers in 42 countries improved their security measures.
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