Mum and daughter Woolworths toilet paper brawl in court
Dramatic footage of the incident, which went viral as panic buying swept the NSW due to the coronavirus outbreak, shows Treiza, 60, and Meriam Bebawy, 23, allegedly setting upon a woman.
Police & Courts
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A mother and daughter accused of attacking a woman over a jumbo pack of toilet rolls during a brawl in Sydney's west that went viral have yet to enter pleas.
Treiza, 60, and Meriam Bebawy, 23, were mentioned in Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday after being charged with affray over the incident at a Woolworths supermarket in Chullora on March 7.
Dramatic footage of the incident, which went viral as panic buying swept the state due to the coronavirus, shows the Bebawys allegedly setting upon Tracey Hinckson, 49, while guarding a trolley full of jumbo packs of toilet rolls.
The brawl was broken up by Woolworths employees and one staffer can be heard saying “look what you’re doing, you are fighting over tissues – think about what you’re doing, yeah?”
The alleged victim was not injured.
The Bebawys, of Bankstown, were not required to appear in court because of the virus and their case was adjourned for two weeks so their lawyer could have more time to speak with them.
According to court documents, police allege the mother and daughter were violent towards the female victim and would have caused people at the scene to fear for their safety during the incident at 7am.
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They will not be required to appear when their case returns to the same court on May 12, when they must enter pleas of guilty or not guilty to their affray charges.
Following the incident, a bewildered Bankstown Police Acting Inspector Andrew New pleaded with the public for calm and advised supermarket shoppers: “There is just no need for any of that panic because there is sufficient supplies," Inspector New said.
"We don't need to do that."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also later said: “Stop hoarding. I can’t be more blunt about it. Stop it. It is not sensible, it is not helpful and it has been one of the most disappointing things I have seen in Australian behaviour in response to this crisis.”