A shopkeeper has died after he fell ill whilst chasing a shop lifter who stole a bottle of wine in South West London.
The unidentified man allegedly made the theft at Four Seasons Mini Market on Greyhound Lane, Streatham on Saturday July, 21 at 9.30pm.
He is described as a black male, in his mid 20s, wearing a dark grey hoodie, a black backpack, dark tracksuit bottoms, white socks and dark trainers.
Shop keeper, Acilan Nagenthiram, 44, pursued the man onto Estreham Road and following a short altercation he had a heart attack and collapsed onto the pavement.
Despite the efforts of ambulance crews, Acilan sadly died at a major trauma centre in the capital.
Mr Nagenthiram is survived by Tharsini, his loving wife, and Thinoshan, Vishanthan, Kashvin and Kethushan, his beloved sons.
His funeral took place at Croydon Crematorium on Thursday August, 15.
Today marks one month since the devastating incident, there have been no arrests and CCTV footage is being released in order to identify the offender and assist the police investigation.
Local man, John Mulvey has slammed police officers for their seemingly lack of progress in finding and arresting the shop lifter.
Speaking today Mr Mulvey, 58 said: “There is a big thing about shoplifting at the moment, how rife it is, and how the police do nothing unless they steal more than £200 of goods.
“It is just ironic that you can post something on Facebook, be arrested, charged, appear in court and be sent to prison within a week – but steal a £8 bottle of wine and get away with it.
“Acilan was one of four family members who have served the community for the last 20 years, due to his dedication he didn’t finish this shift – I wonder if the man knows this and will come forward.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 9.35pm on Saturday 21 July 2024 to reports of a medical incident in Estreham Road, SW16.
“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer.
“The first of our crews arrived at the scene in five minutes.
“Our crews treated a man at the scene, before taking him to a London major trauma centre.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called to Estreham Road, SW16, at 21.50hrs on Sunday, 21 July to reports of a man who had collapsed in the street.
“He was taken to hospital but sadly died a short time later.
“The man, a shopkeeper, had been chasing a suspected shoplifter before he collapsed.
“Detectives in Central South BCU are investigating the full circumstances of the incident. There have been no arrests.
“Any witnesses, or anyone with any information, is asked to call police on 101, quoting CAD 7393/21Jul, or Crimestoppers, 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Last month new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer announced his commitment to tackling shoplifting offences under £200 in the King’s Speech.
According to The Telegraph, a new bill aims to reverse a 2014 “charter” where theft of products under £200 is “low value”.
