Shoplifters steal more than $300 worth of merchandise at Midori Gifts

The owner of a small business in downtown Kingston is offering a reward to anyone who can offer information leading to the identification of two people accused of shoplifting from her store.

Tina Yan, owner of Midori Gifts on Princess Street, has released photos lifted from security camera footage, as well as some video footage, in an attempt to identify two individuals that stole merchandise from the store at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. According to Yan, the pair made off with over $300 worth of items.

“It has given us such joy to have shared our store with downtown Kingston for over five years now. However, we have noticed an increase with shoplifting incidents within the last year,” Yan said.

“As a small business, all of our revenue goes to supporting our staff and bringing more goods to Kingston. It makes us feel helpless and frustrated when incidents such as this happen. We are unable to prevent them and/or recover the loss.”

Yan is offering a $100 reward to anyone with information that leads to the identification of either or both parties involved. She said she has seen an increase in shoplifting incidents over the past year or so, not only at her store, but at other independent retail outlets on Princess Street. And Yan indicated some of those events had clearly been planned.

“We have had two very big incidents where people orchestrated and diverted the attention of the staff to steal. And often wallets and more expensive items such as handheld game consoles are the first to be taken,” she said. “There certainly has been an increase this year.” The store has contacted Kingston Police, who are currently investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kingston Police at 613-549-4660 ext. 0 and cite incident number 19-46937.