Thief robs elderly grandmother at Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre
A frail elderly grandmother was targeted by a selfish thief at a popular Mackay shopping centre as she did her Christmas shopping. The woman says the offender has shaken her trust.
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An elderly woman who’s wallet, with ID and $900, was stolen at a shopping centre in Mackay says it has left her with “a dirty taste in her mouth” and shattered her sense of trust in society.
Colleen Graham, 66, said she was doing her Christmas shopping at Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre’s Kmart on December 5 when the thief struck.
“I deliberately went early because a couple of hours later it gets packed,” Ms Graham said.
Sustaining injuries from when she was hit by a car as a pedestrian 22 years ago and suffering mobility problems as a result, Ms Graham said she was using one of the smaller shopping trolleys to support herself while she walked.
“Some days are worse than others, so I normally get a small trolley,” she said.
“To be honest I was so upset that I don’t remember where I put my wallet, but I think it was beside my bag in the trolley.
“I had my phone out as well, but they didn’t take the phone.
“They were definitely after cash.”
The wallet, which was oversized and light pink in colour, contained all her ID, bank cards and an envelope with $900.
The cash had been withdrawn for her to use over the coming days while her husband Ken, 74, sought treatment for heart problems at one of the state’s larger hospitals.
“I said to Ken, I’m so careful compared to a lot of people. Everything I have was in that wallet,” she said.
“We didn’t know if Ken was going to Townsville or Brisbane, so I had the cash in the envelope to use while he was at hospital,” she said.
After realising the wallet was gone, Ms Graham said she went straight to centre management who helped her backtrack her movements, to no avail.
The following day she was told the thief had made four attempts to use her bank card, which Mr Graham had blocked for her.
“They tried to use it three times to pay for hotels through PayPal,” Mr Graham said.
“The fourth time was for $204 but all the transaction were rejected straightaway by the bank.”
Mr Graham said his wife was devastated all week because of the incident.
“This has affected Colleen emotionally in that she is worried whoever’s got the purse has access to our residence,” he said.
“Colleen is very fragile at present.”
“And this is straight after I’ve had the bloody heart scare.”
Mr Graham said he was now also on high alert.
“It’s not only losing the money,” he said.
“It’s everything that is in there – her BUPA cards, Medicare, license, they know where we live … everything.
“They’ve just violated her and our trust in society has dwindled.”
Ms Graham said the loss was forcing her to monitor her Christmas spending more closely.
“We will still buy for the kids but the little bit of extra spending money would have been to get something for ourselves,” she said.
“Maybe a tool or something for Ken, but that’s on the backburner.
“We’ve worked hard to do right by ourselves and our family.
“We donate to charity.
“At this day and age everyone needs their money for different reasons. It’s not getting easier for anyone really.”
Queensland Police Service has not yet responded to the Mercury’s request for comment but the Grahams said an officer investigating the theft hoped to view the store’s security tapes over the coming days.
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