Rosemarie Sano, a widow and mother of six, was convicted and fined by Magistrate Peter Law after she pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
The prosecution said the 55-year-old woman was observed by the manager of the Fusion by Park n Shop supermarket in Cyberport, Pokfulam, putting the goods in her rucksack on Mar 27.
When she tried to leave the supermarket without paying, the manager intercepted her and demanded to inspect the woman’s backpack.
Found inside the bag were a pack of sushi, a box of body lotion, four oranges, a pack of mushrooms, two eggplants, six pieces of avocado, a pack of vegetables, two packs of underwear and two packs of socks.
The manager called police and Sano was arrested. She was released after putting up a 1,000 bail.
The prosecutor said the defendant had a clear record.
In mitigation, the duty lawyer assigned to represent Sano asked for a lenient sentence by way of a fine, saying she had a clear record and had pleaded guilty to the charge.
He said Sano was a domestic helper earning $7,000 a month. Her husband died four years ago and she has single-handedly supporting her two daughters and four sons.
Magistrate Law said that as the value of goods Sano had stolen was quite large, he was imposing a fine of $2,000, half of it to be taken from her bail money and the remainder to be paid within one week. – VB Lumicao
