Jail for airport sales assistant who stole over $24k worth of perfumes, skincare products
Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
March 17, 2026
While working at a duty-free shop at Changi Airport, a woman stole beauty and skincare products worth more than $24,000 over a span of less than two months.
On March 17, Takeda Mylene Futalan, 49, pleaded guilty to an amalgamated charge of theft by a servant and was sentenced to seven months' jail.
The items she stole included perfumes, make-up and skincare products from Chanel, Dior and Diptyque.
The court heard that on at least 108 separate occasions, from April 9, 2025, to May 22, 2025, she stole 147 items from booth display shelves. During that time, she was a sales assistant at a duty-free shop at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
She would take items from the shelves, hide them under her armpit and place them in a booth drawer. Then she would transfer the items from the booth drawer into a pouch.
During her break, she would meet buyers she had been in contact with on Carousell, or via word of mouth, at the public area of the airport and sell the items at a 50 per cent discount from the retail price.
In early May 2025, a security manager was assigned to monitor her movements as inventory shortages were discovered during a stock check.
On May 22, 2025, Futalan was seen on CCTV footage stealing three perfumes. She was confronted by the security manager and admitted to what she had done.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lee Cheng Wah said the items Futalan stole were not recovered as she had either sold them to other people or used them.
Futalan, a Filipina with Singapore permanent residency, has since made partial restitution of $3,770. The court heard that she has no financial means to pay the remaining sum.
In his submissions, SPO Lee said she had abused her employer's trust by committing multiple premeditated thefts.
In mitigation, Futalan, who did not have a lawyer, told Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun: "Your Honour, I do not want to go to prison... Please forgive me and give me another chance."
Those convicted of theft by a servant can be jailed for up to seven years and can also be liable to a fine.
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