SINGAPORE, Sept 4 — A Singapore distance runner who has represented the country at the World Athletics Road Running Championships has been charged with stealing running shoes and training cones from a Decathlon store.
Ko Wen Qiang, Keane, 26, is accused of taking a pair of KD900X running shoes worth S$139.90 (RM446) from the retailer’s Kallang outlet in July 2025, Singapore-based media organisation CNA reported.
He is also alleged to have stolen a set of training cones worth S$25 from the same outlet two months later.
Ko was charged on July 1 and is due to return to court on October 2.
Ko has also competed for Singapore internationally.
According to Singapore Athletics, he represented the country at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships, where he completed the men’s half marathon in about one hour and 21 minutes.
He also finished second in the national championships at the 2024 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon half-marathon event.
In an interview with The Straits Times in January, Ko said he had been based in Slovenia since late October 2025 while working remotely as a business developer.
He said at the time that he was targeting Singapore national records in events including the 3,000m, 3,000m steeplechase and marathon.
If convicted of theft in dwelling, Ko could face up to seven years in jail and a fine.
