MUM LAYS DOWN THE LAW
AN EAGLE- EYED mum has dobbed in her daughter after spotting video of her stealing a charity tin on social media.
Two girls were caught on CCTV stealing two charity tins from the Mount Louisa Red Rooster store this week.
Franchisee Michael Jones posted the video on social media, hoping to identify the light- fingered thieves.
The post was widely shared and reached the Facebook feed of a woman who noticed one of the girls was her daughter.
The mum contacted Mr Jones to apologise and pledged her daughter would return the money and make a donation to the charity, The Cure Starts Now.
TWO girls caught on camera stealing children’s charity tins would have got away with it, if not for social media and one of their mothers.
The franchisee at Red Rooster in Mount Louisa, Michael Jones, noticed on Wednesday two tins collecting money for The Cure Starts Now charity had disappeared.
When he looked through CCTV footage at the store he saw two girls taking the tins about 6.23pm on Tuesday.
He posted the video to a popular Townsville social media page which highlights crime in the community, hoping to identify the girls.
“The staff were serving drive- through customers when they stole the two tins,” he said.
The video was spread widely on social media and the mother of one of the girls spotted her daughter on a Facebook post.
Mr Jones said yesterday the woman called the store to apologise.
“She was horrified and said she would get them to come into the store and make a formal apology,” he said.
“They will also make a donation to the charity.”
Mr Jones said he withdrew a formal complaint with police following the intervention of the mother.
A Townsville police spokesman confirmed no further action would be taken.
Mr Jones said it was a shame the girls had resorted to stealing from a charity.
The money was to go to- wards funding research into aggressive paediatric brain tumours.
The Cure Starts Now is a Townsville- based charity started by Ren Pedersen after he lost his nine- year- old daughter Amy to brain cancer in 2009. He said brain tumours killed more children than any other disease and his charity liaised with top researchers from around the country.
“We cherish the goodwill of people like Michael for allowing us to use his counter,” he said. “And lo and behold someone with hot fingers comes along. Ironically, the families could benefit from some of the work we’re doing.”
When told the money would be returned, Mr Pedersen said he was grateful to the mother for her intervention. “It’s good that the mother has put her hand up. Let’s face it, many in the com- munity would be asking where are the parents,” he said. “Australia was founded on convict recompenses and if they realise the stupidity of their actions that’s a good thing.”
To find out more about the charity visit thecurestartsnow.org