Man jailed for cheating supermarket 26 times using self-checkout machine to get free groceries
He would scan the items, then cancel them, before buying a cheap drink to make it seem like he had paid for all the items.
Chang Ka Phin arriving at the State Courts on Oct 9, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
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SINGAPORE: A man purchased a cheap drink at the self-checkout machine at a Giant supermarket to make it seem like he had paid for his items, but left with other unpaid items.
He used this method more than 20 times and cheated the supermarket of a total of 143 items – worth about S$534 (US$412) – but was finally caught when a staff member noticed him behaving suspiciously and asked for a receipt.
Chang Ka Phin, a 47-year-old Singaporean, was jailed for one month on Thursday (Oct 9) for one charge of cheating.
The court heard that Chang went to the Giant supermarket at Block 883, Woodlands Street 82, a total of 26 times between January and March this year.
He would take multiple items from the shelves and head to a self-checkout machine.
He would scan the items, then cancel them. Chang would then scan the barcode for a drink worth 50 cents or 70 cents, so that his purchase of multiple items would be approved even though he had only paid 50 cents or 70 cents for a drink.
Chang continued this method until Mar 21, when he again used the self-checkout machine at the supermarket.
A loss prevention officer saw that Chang was acting suspiciously and waited outside for him.
As Chang was leaving, the officer stopped him and requested to see his receipt. Chang did not produce it, so another staff member printed out his receipt. The receipt showed that he had paid for a drink, but several other items were found in Chang's bag.
Further investigations revealed his past cheating offences.
Chang has made full restitution. The unrepresented man gave a written mitigation plea to the court, which was not read out in open court.
When asked if he had anything else to say, he said: "I just pray that I won't go to jail. I really regret what I did."
The judge told him that his charge had a mandatory custodial or jail sentence, and that the only question was how long it would be.
She said she could not ignore the fact that there were 26 occasions of cheating, but noted that the amount involved was "not particularly significant" and that Chang has made restitution.
For cheating, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined. As his charge was amalgamated, meaning it involved multiple instances of the same offence, the maximum penalties could have been doubled.
