TZANEEN: “Charges dropped… who steals chappies after buying groceries?”
"She was not given an opportunity to pay for the chewing gum even though she had money and offered to pay!"
A 52-year-old Tzaneen resident was arrested at the Shoprite supermarket in Tzaneen Crossing for allegedly stealing a pack of chewing gum on Friday, February 1.
The Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court dropped charges of shoplifting against Lucy Moagi when she appeared in court last Monday.
Lucy Moagi was reprimanded by a security guard as she stepped out of Shoprite at Tzaneen Crossing in the afternoon, around 15:00 on Friday.
According to an article by Times Live she paid R665 for her groceries.
https://twitter.com/Letsoalo_Liz/status/1091417367471710215
Her niece, Liz Letsoalo, took to twitter to share her aunt’s story: “@Shoprite_SA, my aunt in jail as we speak for buying her groceries and forgetting to pay for chewing gum, and you called the police on her. Who steals Chappies after buying groceries?!”
She added another tweet to the thread saying:
https://twitter.com/Letsoalo_Liz/status/1091417682279350272
“Your security in Tzaneen took pictures of her to publish. She was not given an opportunity to pay for the chewing gum even though she had money and offered to pay!”
https://twitter.com/Letsoalo_Liz/status/1091445772590157824
After people tweeted asking Letsoalo how her aunt forgot to pay for the chappies she responded:
The chewing gum was in her bag. She had it in her hand with a phone, then when she had to pay she put them in the bag to take out wallet (she forgot about them). They saw it via cameras and didn't alert her. As she walked out they went for her. She offered to pay, they refused 💔
— Letsoalo La Mmatau (@Letsoalo_Liz) February 2, 2019
“The chewing gum was in her bag. She had it in her hand with a phone, then when she had to pay she put them in the bag to take out [her] wallet (she forgot about them). They saw it via cameras and didn’t alert her. As she walked out they went for her. She offered to pay, they refused.”
Shoprite has since responded to the LETABA HERALD’s enquiries for comment on the matter.
The prosecuting authority has informed Shoprite that the case is under investigation before deciding whether to prosecute or not and Shoprite will abide by the decision taken by the authorities in this regard, explained the Shoprite Media Team.
“We are very sorry that our customer found herself in such a predicament. The matter is under investigation and if it is found that it was mismanaged at store level, stern action will be taken because we believe that such cases must be treated with utmost care and respect,” the Shoprite Media Team told the HERALD.
They continued by saying that all incidences of alleged unpaid-for items leaving Shoprite stores must unfortunately be investigated and Shoprite’s stance is to do this without discrimination, prejudice against or indulgence of any specific group or individual, explained the media team.
Shoplifting is an ongoing challenge in the retail industry through which vast amounts of money is lost on an annual basis.
This places the success of businesses and the job security of millions of people at risk and ultimately impacts the final product cost that consumers end up paying, concluded Shoprite.
The HERALD reached out for comment from Liz Letsoalo, but has not received a response yet.
