Moutaiki Tangatapanu: Westfield Knox bus terminal and The Glen parents’ room crook

A crook who stole a woman’s hat because she was mean, then went on to steal a handbag from the parents’ room at a popular shopping centre.

Tangatapanu appeared in court via video link. Picture: Istock

A homeless man, who crept into a parents’ room at The Glen Shopping Centre and stole a handbag, has faced court.

Moutaiki Tangatapanu appeared via video link from Thomas Embling and pleaded guilty at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court to charges including theft, obtain property by deception and commit indictable offence while on bail.

Tangatapanu’s string of crimes started when he stole a man’s $60 jacket from a shop in Epping on July 20.

He also took hold of a three-pack of stolen Nike socks, which he knew to be stolen on the same day.

A few months later, on November 27, Tangatapanu stole a $50 Lacoste cap from a woman’s head.

According to court documents, Tangatapanu was travelling on a bus from Greensborough, which stopped at the Burwood Highway interchange in Wantirna South, opposite Westfield Knox shopping centre.

He has a brief conversation with the victim before both Tangatapanu and the woman got off the bus.

He then grabbed the hat from the woman’s head and yelled, “haha, I got her hat”.

In a police interview, also revealed in court documents, Tangatapanu told police, the woman threatened him and he was scared of her, so he took her hat.

“And then I hid from her,” he told police.

In court documents Tangatapanu told police he had intended to chuck the hat away and only stole it from her because, “ … she was mean to me and I chuck it away”.

Court documents reveal a couple of weeks later the crook snuck into the parents’ room at The Glen Shopping Centre and stole an unattended black handbag from a couch.

After rifling through the bag, while in the men’s toilets, Tangatapanu stole a bank card before returning the bag to the parents’ room.

As he ran off, Tangatapanu stole a bottle of Calvin Klein perfume from a nearby kiosk.

According to court documents the crook used the stolen bank card to buy cigarettes and a lighter, and later racked up more than $250 at DPS Wantirna South.

Defence lawyer Daniel Ajak said Tangatapanu was a young person who had been in custody for 182 days – since December.

Magistrate David Starvaggi said deterrence was a significant and considerable sentencing factor.

Mr Starvaggi sentenced Tangatapanu to 60 days – which would have been 90 if not for the guilty plea.