By Latrishka Thomas
“I plead guilty for not paying for the bag but I didn’t steal it,” a woman who was charged with stealing a cooler bag and Ramen noodles from Perry Bay supermarket told the court yesterday.
On the morning of May 15, Sheena Watts went the supermarket and took up a cooler bag upon entry.
She then went through the aisles and began putting ramen noodles inside the large bag.
She was spotted by a security guard on duty and was told that she is not allowed to place items into a bag while shopping.
Watts then went for a basket and continued shopping.
But when she got to the cashier, she placed the cooler bag on the ground, removed the items from the basket and paid for them.
The woman placed the items she purchased into the same bag and proceeded to the exit where she was stopped by a security guard.
She told the security officer that she had paid for the bag but when the receipt was checked, the bag was not accounted for.
A search of the bag revealed three packs of noodles that had also not been paid for.
The store’s security footage was then reviewed and Watts was subsequently taken into custody by police.
When asked to explain herself, the woman told Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh that “sometimes when I go to the supermarket and I’m not buying a lot of stuff, I just put it in my shopping bag and then go to the cashier.
“I wasn’t even studying. I put the bag ah grung and went to get the money. I didn’t have any problem paying for the bag, but they already called the police. I didn’t go with any intention of stealing anything,” she said.
The magistrate said that she didn’t understand the woman’s explanation and believed that she intentionally stole the bag.
Nevertheless, Watts was given a break and only fined $86.02 — the cost of the items she had taken.
“Go back into Perry Bay and do it again, and the next time you do it, I’m going to jail you,” Chief Magistrate Walsh warned the woman.