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Aussie woman arrested for stealing Chanel perfume from Singapore airport 2 years after she returned to the country

Despite the two-year gap, the accused was identified and taken into custody during her recent visit.

On April 11, she appeared before a District Judge and tearfully apologised for her actions (Representative image/Pexels)On April 11, she appeared before a District Judge and tearfully apologised for her actions (Representative image/Pexels)

An Australian woman, 35, has been fined $750 (Rs 63,000, approximately) after admitting to stealing a bottle of Chanel perfume worth nearly $250 (over Rs 21,000) from a duty-free store at Singapore’s Changi Airport two years ago. The theft occurred on March 22, 2023, and the accused, Raj Varsha, was only detained when she returned to Singapore on March 31, 2025, as reported by The Straits Times.

Varsha had arrived with her family from Australia and entered The Shilla Duty Free store in Terminal 1’s departure transit area at around 4.10 AM on the day of the incident. According to State Prosecuting Officer Zakir Hussain, she took a bottle of perfume and slipped it into her bag. A security officer later noticed the item missing and alerted store staff. Upon reviewing the CCTV footage, a supervisor contacted the Airport Police Division.

“The accused, upon realising that the theft had been discovered, immediately left the Shilla store without paying for the said bottle of perfume. At 9.10 am, she departed to Thailand with her family,” SPO Hussain said.

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Despite the two-year gap, Varsha was identified and taken into custody during her recent visit. She confessed to the theft and revealed that she had gifted the perfume to her mother. On April 11, she appeared before District Judge A Sangeetha and apologised for her actions. She has since reimbursed the store for the stolen perfume, the reports said.

“I take full responsibility for what I have done, and I’m very sorry. I’ve never had any issues with the law before… I wasn’t thinking straight and was not in the right frame of mind,” Varsha told the court, as reported by TST.

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