Father 'scolds' Haji Lane camera shop for 'putting boy's face online' after son allegedly caught stealing
A father has scolded a Haji Lane camera shop for posting CCTV footage of his son allegedly stealing a digital camera, sparking online debate over the store's handling of the month-long theft case.
The issue arose from an unresolved alleged theft that has dragged on for at least a month, with authorities contacting the suspects but failing to reach them, the shop owner said in a TikTok post on Nov 21.
A clip of the CCTV, posted by @mynameisnotmin and captioned "Don't steal from @DigicamDiariesSG because we have 7 CCTVs in the shop," has since gone viral, racking up 23,500 views, 887 reactions, and nine comments at press time.
According to its social media, Digicam Diaries SG is a specialty camera store on Haji Lane, offering digital cameras and accessories, with an online shop that ships worldwide.
'Not even sorry'
The store owner said employees photograph and count every camera at the start of each shift, so the missing camera immediately raised concerns and prompted a review of CCTV footage.
The clip reportedly showed the boy taking the camera while his mother was in the store's photo booth making a call. "They looked like foreigners, and we wanted to catch them before they left the country," the owner said.
Authorities were contacted, and an investigating officer traced the family through a PayNow payment the mother had made for stickers at the boy's request.
The owner said the police "called the number, but allegedly they kept avoiding it".
Describing the ordeal as "stressful", the small business said it had to wait anxiously for updates on the case.
On the day of the theft, the store posted CCTV footage of the boy and his mother on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, hoping someone would recognise them.
About a month later, the owner's partner received a call from the boy's father.
"The father was unapologetic, not embarrassed, not guilty, and not even sorry. His first reaction was to scold us for putting the boy's face online."
Screenshots of conversations shared by the owner showed the father insisting that the boy not be called a "thief" or accused of having stolen, noting that the boy is only ten years old.
The owner also confirmed that the family are Singaporeans. Although the father initially insisted on returning the digital camera instead of paying, the store eventually recovered the money and removed the CCTV footage as a gesture of goodwill.
'Shame on them'
Most comments on TikTok sided with the owner, saying that regardless, the boy was still wrong for stealing in the first place and criticised the father for scolding the shop instead.
"Shame on them, here for you sis," one user commented.
Others suggested that the business use a "clear locked display case", explaining that "if they want, they can consult your staff to see".
However, the owner quickly justified not doing so, saying: "There's almost 200 cameras in store and sometimes too many customers."
"I would prefer to report to the police and let them handle the situation," another user added.
Despite the incident, the owner said they still "want to create a trusting, easygoing environment whereby our customers can test the cameras to their heart's delight".
'Every loss is felt and hurts badly'
In response to queries, the store owner told Stomp that the incident occurred on July 8 at around 7.40pm.
She said the business is appreciative of the police for "their hard work in reaching out to the family".
The owner added: "The shops at Haji Lane are mostly small businesses doing their best to survive, every loss is felt and hurts badly."
"We don't condone shoplifting and really appreciate everyone's help in helping us identify the shop theft cases."
