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Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12497		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:59 am ]
Post subject:  Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... bbish.html

Quote:
Dozens of people could not believe their luck after the supermarket giant put bagged up thousands of pounds of spoiled stock and left it out in the street.
Sasha Hall, 21, helped herself to potato waffles, pies and ham from the store in Great Baddow, Essex.
But she was left stunned after police arrived at her home and arrested her or "theft by finding" and took her to the station in handcuffs.
She said: "There was £3,000 worth of food going to waste on the street.
"It had been thrown out, so I thought I could put it to better use. But when the police came round I was so upset. I felt like a terrible criminal."
Author:  belchingmatt [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Theft by finding for waste, really?

Also Tesco should have better control of spoilt food.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
belchingmatt wrote:
Theft by finding for waste, really?

Also Tesco should have better control of spoilt food.

Well I would have thought that since it was thrown out by Tesco that Tesco will certainly not claim it so in which case it would be hers.
Author:  paulzolo [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Oh - that’s Local News! No doubt all the local papers will be over this one.
Author:  JJW009 [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
A lot of supermarkets used to give their expiring food stock to local causes such as soup kitchens, but I'm told that's illegal now.

I can't help thinking there's more to this story. Why would the police go to her house with a battering ram? How was it reported to the authorities in the first place? I know skip raiding isn't exactly legal, but seriously who would give a...?
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
JJW009 wrote:
A lot of supermarkets used to give their expiring food stock to local causes such as soup kitchens, but I'm told that's illegal now.

I can't help thinking there's more to this story. Why would the police go to her house with a battering ram? How was it reported to the authorities in the first place? I know skip raiding isn't exactly legal, but seriously who would give a...?

It looks more like police trying to clear up non existent crimes to boost their performance figures. If she opt for a jury I cannot see them convicting. It might be technically wrong but the goods were abandoned by tesco and clearly not put there by mistake, because of the power cut. So why is anyone chasing this case? :roll:
Author:  ShockWaffle [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Before throwing the food away, Tesco presumably writes the stock off and its book value becomes £0. In those circumstances she cannot possibly be prosecuted as the items she took have no value whatsoever.

The only way I can see anything like this happening is if she has a friend who works for Tesco and throws out stuff she asks for. Which seems unlikely in this case.
Author:  Linux_User [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
ShockWaffle wrote:
Before throwing the food away, Tesco presumably writes the stock off and its book value becomes £0. In those circumstances she cannot possibly be prosecuted as the items she took have no value whatsoever.

The only way I can see anything like this happening is if she has a friend who works for Tesco and throws out stuff she asks for. Which seems unlikely in this case.

Eh?

The Theft Act 1968 is quite clear:

Quote:
Basic definition of theft.

(1)A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and “thief” and “steal” shall be construed accordingly.

(2)It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thief’s own benefit.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/1

She took something that's the legal property of Tesco, and had no intention of returning it. It's theft, pure and simple.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Linux_User wrote:
She took something that's the legal property of Tesco, and had no intention of returning it. It's theft, pure and simple.

Can you logically permanently deprive someone of something they've already thrown away? In that case, isn't every binman in Britain guilty of theft pretty much every minute he's doing his job?

Jon
Author:  Linux_User [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
jonbwfc wrote:
Linux_User wrote:
She took something that's the legal property of Tesco, and had no intention of returning it. It's theft, pure and simple.

Can you logically permanently deprive someone of something they've already thrown away? In that case, isn't every binman in Britain guilty of theft pretty much every minute he's doing his job?

Jon

Yes, it's entirely possible to steal something from someone's bin. Unless you have been specifically given something or authorised to take it, it's theft. As for binmen - they're actually covered by the assumed contract between you and the council. If you put your rubbish out to be collected by the council, as soon as it's collected it actually becomes the legal property of the council.
Author:  brataccas [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
tesco are nazi bastards, evil cretin boss and managers work there who should be shot (in the leg) and be humiliated by being filmed whilst suffering, then whipped by a chain to make sure their pathetic death is not instant :x
Author:  tombolt [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:41 am ]
Post subject:  Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
I wish my morals could be so easily aligned with the law. Life would be so much simpler that way. In some ways, I envy Linux_user.
Author:  Linux_User [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
tombolt wrote:
I wish my morals could be so easily aligned with the law. Life would be so much simpler that way. In some ways, I envy Linux_user.

I never said I agreed with it or that it was moral, but this is theft, as defined by the Act.
Author:  tombolt [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:15 am ]
Post subject:  Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Fair enough.
Author:  ShockWaffle [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Woman accused of theft after taking Tesco rubbish
Linux_User wrote:
The Theft Act 1968 is quite clear:

Quote:
Basic definition of theft.

(1)A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and “thief” and “steal” shall be construed accordingly.

(2)It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thief’s own benefit.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/1

She took something that's the legal property of Tesco, and had no intention of returning it. It's theft, pure and simple.

Whether the thief gains from the act may well be immaterial, but surely it does matter that somebody must lose out for it to be theft?

If Tesco had already written the value of the goods down to £0 in an official ledger of accounts, which is what I understand all supermarkets do before they bag it up for disposal, then I would query it's legal status as property that could be stolen? The only sense in which it remains property, from my perspective, is that Tesco remains liable for its safe disposal.

There may technically be a crime at some level here, but doesn't it rate somewhere below that of a man who, upon seeing a penny in the street, stops to pick it up (the value of the goods he has illegitimately seized being greater than zero)?
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