‘My hands just went flying’: Woolworths toilet roll brawler describes wild fight
A woman accused of getting into a fight over toilet paper at the height of the pandemic has described what sparked the Woolies brawl.
Wild scenes of a brawl in a supermarket aisle over toilet paper have been described by a daughter accused with her mother of brawling in Woolworths with another shopper.
Meriam Bebawy, 23, has described hitting a woman in the face after “my hands just went flying” when she allegedly had her hair pulled after grabbing back a jumbo pack of Quilton toilet paper from the woman.
Woolworths staffers have also given evidence of “frightening” scenes of “aggression and violence” after the doors opened and “there were 30 or 40 people just running through the shop to get to that aisle”.
In a police interview recorded at Bankstown station after the fight on the morning of March 7 this year, Meriam Bebawy said she and her mother had grabbed eight large packs of toilet paper because “four is never enough”.
This was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when toilet paper was sold out at supermarkets across Australia.
“We are not like your average family,” Meriam Bebawy told the police, blaming Woolworths staff for the fight, who she described as “mean”.
“They all ganged up on us,” she said.
Meriam Bebawy and her mother Treiza, 60, have pleaded not guilty each to one count of affray, with the case being heard before Magistrate Peter Bugden in Bankstown court on Friday.
In the police interview played on Friday, Meriam described the scenes of pandemonium which ensued when she and her mother piled up the toilet paper into their shopping trolley at 7.02am.
Meriam said after desperate days of seeing empty toilet paper shelves at different supermarkets, she and her mother were first through the door at Chullora in south west Sydney, but the shelves were empty.
“Everyone started running,” she said.
“They brought out one pallet. I was grabbing and we put eight in the trolley.
Meriam said one lady tried to take a jumbo pack of Quinton from her and Woolies staff were telling her she was “selfish”.
“They are screaming because we got there first. This lady starts screaming and swearing. We were trying to leave.
“She came up to the trolley and she grabbed one (packet of toilet rolls).
“She was holding it by the little band on the top.
“So I smashed on the toilet pack to rip that handle. The handle ripped … I think I bent down, I get punched in my face, she grabbed my hair.
“Woolworths staff ganged up on us. Everyone was screaming at us.
“My hands just went flying. I don’t know where I was hitting. I think I hit her across the face.”
Sobbing as she described the fight to Bankstown Police, Meriam said she thought if she hit the woman, the woman would let go of her hair.
“She just wouldn’t let go of my hair.
“I’m not a weak person … I’m scared she might hurt my mum,” she told police.
“She gets hurt … a bigger deal, she’s old.”
Meriam said staff were making jokes about her and filmed the incident before the store manager then stepped in saying, “This has got to stop, this is out of control”.
She said “everyone was being so rude, so mean so we just left”.
Asked by police about the blows traded between her and the other shopper, Meriam said alleged the woman “punched in my face close-fisted. It was hard, very aggressive”.
She said she had retaliated but “my hands were open. I think I slapped her across the face.”
In her police interview Treiza Bebawy was asked by police, “do you agree there was a fight”.
“Yes, yes,” Treiza replies.
Asked if she had become involved in the fight, Treiza gave the same response.
But she told the police “we come from a very good background. We are a good family”.
The mother and daughter watched video of themselves played in Bankstown Court in the screeching brawl with arms and swear words flying in Woolworths at Chullora.
The two accused sat passively in court beside their Egyptian interpreter as both mobile phone footage and Woolworths CCTV of the March 7 encounter were played.
Three Woolies staff members told the court about the scenes of mayhem in the story that morning.
Lina Keany said she saw the Bebawys “screaming” and “guarding a trolley”.
“It was scaring the customers,” she said.
Asked by the Bebawys’ counsel Matt Fordham who was scaring the customers, Ms Keany said “a mother and daughter. They were very loud, very angry, just saying it was theirs, they needed it.”
Supermarket worker Charbel Estephan told the hearing he was “very shocked” at “just the way the fight was escalating … there was a lot of violence involved, a lot of screaming”.
He said that once the alleged victim had taken a toilet paper pack from Meriam Bebawy, that Ms Bebawy “charged at her and tried to snatch the toilet paper back from her”.
“I saw the mother and daughter both hitting. I saw the Islander lady just defending herself,” he said.
Mr Fordham told Magistrate Bugden that in his submission video of the incident showed the alleged victim as the aggressor with her raised “right arm to … Meriam Bebawy with clenched fist”.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER ARRIVE TO COURT
The women arrived at Bankstown Local Court just before lunchtime today with a priest.
Prosecutor Michael Cleaver told the court there were certain facts which were not in doubt and they were that there was the removal of toilet paper from the shelves of Woolworths and an altercation took place.
“I understand one of the issues is self defence, but the prosecution can negatise that,” he said.
Magistrate Bugden asked whether there were any injuries, which Mr Cleaver said there were not.
“If there is any way this matter can be resolved other than by a contested hearing … can the parties resolve it,” Magistrate Bugden told the parties and left the bench to allow them to do so.
But Mr Cleaver said the case would proceed and tendered the Woolworths videos and police interviews with both women.
Police allege the mother and daughter did use or threaten unlawful violence towards another woman by conduct such that a person of reasonable firmness would fear for their safety.
Mr Fordham asked Magistrate Bugden to dismiss the charges against the Bebawys, saying the prosecution witnesses had only heard the altercation and become concerned for the welfare of other persons.
A video of the incident that went viral on social media shows a group of women pushing, yelling and arguing over a jumbo packet of four-ply toilet paper.
A shopper allegedly captured the scenes of women clawing at each other by a supermarket trolley stacked with toilet paper.
Magistrate Bugden adjourned the hearing and reserved his decision until Monday.