Retailer target of ‘Covid-19 cough’
A woman on charges of assault and shoplifting allegedly coughed in a store owner’s face, telling him ‘‘it’s Covid-19 season, bro’’.
With the country moving into level 2 last Thursday, Sandro Azevedo da Silva was excited to reopen his Lower Hutt store, Bargain City.
But his excitement came to an abrupt end when he experienced ‘‘the most disgusting attitude I’ve seen’’ after the woman allegedly tried to ‘‘scare me off by coughing
. . . making it seem she would give me coronavirus’’.
The woman entered the High St store around midday and immediately went to the handbag section, later taking one of the bags and slinging it over her shoulder.
Another woman joined her, taking another handbag and the pair began to walk around.
About 20 minutes later, the second woman left the store while the alleged offender tried to pay for items except for the bag. However, her card was declined, so she left the store to get money from her ‘‘sister’’.
The alleged offender later returned to the store but Azevedo da Silva noticed that she no longer had the handbag with her.
Azevedo da Silva called 111 to report the incident, and the woman allegedly became ‘‘angry’’ and coughed on him, telling him ‘‘it’s Covid-19 season, bro’’.
‘‘Retail businesses around the country are struggling, fighting for survival due to this pandemic that has put a huge dent in our businesses.
‘‘While this is happening you have people like her shoplifting and assaulting the retailers, endangering their lives.’’
A 24-year-old woman will appear in court on charges of assault and shoplifting at a later date.