Woman fronts court over stealing handbag from change room at Hoppers Crossing store

A furious husband tracked down a single mum of four who pinched his wife’s handbag from a Hoppers Crossing op shop and scared her into handing it over to the police. And all his detective work needed was a common phone app.

St.

A husband has used the Find My Phone app to track down the woman who stole his wife’s handbag from a Hoppers Crossing op shop and scare her into handing it over to police.

Akooy Riak fronted Werribee Magistrates’ Court yesterday over the brazen theft in June last year.

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The court heard the owner of the handbag left it unattended while she was trying on clothes at Vinnies store in Costa Drive when Ms Riak, a single mother of four, “took the opportunity” to pilfer it.

The bag contained house and car keys, a $120 Woolworths giftcard, cash, bank cards and an iPhone.

Ms Riak then filled up her tank at the Woolies petrol station on Old Geelong Rd and paid using cash from the stolen handbag before driving to Pacific Werribee where she was confronted by the victim’s husband.

Ms Riak drove off when the man, who had used the phone’s tracking app to trace its location, questioned her.

She handed the bag in to the Wyndham North police station, telling officers she had found it in the shopping centre carpark.

But CCTV from the Vinnies store and petrol station showed Ms Riak in the area at the time of the offence.

Ms Riak’s lawyer told the court his client had been struggling financially.

“She had been struggling to make rent payments, buy petrol and get the kids through school,” he said.

“The oldest (child) is now 20 and working himself and contributes to the family, so things are a little better at the moment.”

Magistrate Franz Holzer sentenced Ms Riak to a six-month adjourned undertaking without conviction.

“Ms Riak, I am sure you know the difference between right and wrong and irrespective of whether there are financial pressures, just don’t do the wrong thing,” he said.