Woman blames vitamin deficiency for Coles Southland meat, cheese theft
A shoplifter who packed bags full of premium meat and cheeses before trying to leg it out of a Southland supermarket without paying has told police she stole the food as she was lacking vitamins in her diet, a court has heard.
Inner South
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A shoplifter who tried to steal almost $500 of meat and cheese from a Southland supermarket has blamed the theft on a vitamin deficiency.
Rachel Ann Kain filled a Coles trolley with premium prepacked produce before going down one of the aisles and unloading the lot into three bags about 1.50pm on July 29.
She walked straight past the check-outs and out of the supermarket, but had been seen by a loss prevention officer and was quickly nabbed.
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Kain pleaded guilty to one charge of shoplifting at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The court heard Kain told police she stole the items because she had a vitamin deficiency and couldn’t afford to buy them as she had been off work for a year.
The goods, worth a total of $493, were returned to the store.
In court, her defence lawyer said Kain was remorseful, apologetic and had been fully cooperative with police.
She said her client had suffered mental anxiety, had struggled with drug addiction in the past and a car crash last year had exacerbated her PTSD.
The lawyer said Kain’s prior history, specifically regarding dishonesty, involved crimes from a long time ago.
Magistrate Charles Tan said the theft didn’t warrant a jail term because the property was recovered and there had been a long gap in her offending.
“But she needs to know if she returns to what she was doing eight years ago imprisonment will follow,” Mr Tan said.
“If she shop steals, there are punishments.”
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He initially sentenced her to a six-month community corrections order with 80 hours of unpaid work.
But her lawyer said she couldn’t do the hours because of her anxiety and the TAC, which was paying her benefits due to the accident, had confirmed she was not fit to work.
Mr Tan said Kain would have to liaise with corrections regarding work duties and adjourned the case for her to be assessed for mental health and drug treatment conditions.