Northland shops: Mohamed Sidawi caught stealing from Myer
A man was shopping with his partner and two of his four children when he couldn’t resist the urge for a five-finger discount — and when confronted he took drastic action to try and get away.
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A man was with his partner and two children when he stole more than $200 worth of items from a department store in Melbourne’s north, a court has heard.
But he didn’t hold onto the goods for long, dumping them in a nearby bin soon after his crime was discovered.
Mohamed Sidawi, 38, pleaded guilty to one charge of shoplifting at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, February 27.
The court heard he strolled out of Myer at Northland shopping centre in Preston about 5pm on Thursday, February 15, 2019 with $207.85 worth of merchandise in his trolley, including toys and Nike and Adidas clothing.
He was followed by a loss prevention officer, who asked him and his family to return to the store.
But on his way back to Myer Sidawi threw the items in a bin before fleeing the centre, the court heard.
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When he was arrested months later he told police he had not been working at the time and offered to pay for the items.
Magistrate Marita Altman said the father-of-four’s actions sounded like a regrettable “snap decision”, with only one unrelated prior offence to his name.
“It was pretty stupid,” she said.
She ordered Sidawi to undertake a 12-month good behaviour bond.
“You’ve got everything ahead of you.”