Pattaya Daily News

Pattaya, the 19^th of September 2010 [PDN]: At approximately 00:30am on Sunday, security guards at the Tesco-Lotus supermarket in North Pattaya detained a staff member accused of stealing a pair of trousers from the store on Friday the 17^th of September.

The woman, Miss Wiwantanee Mundayun [42], a night-fill employee at the North Pattaya branch of Tesco-Lotus for the last three-years, was detained by security after CCTV footage and fellow employees implicated her in the theft of a pair of trousers valued at Bt399.

Allegedly, Miss Mundayun had been questioned in relation to the theft on Friday, the day of the alleged crime, to which she denied the offence stating that she had legally purchased the clothing.

Confronted with CCTV footage, witness testimony and documented evidence (believed to be stock-take documentation), Miss Mundayun was asked to provide a receipt of purchase by store management, which she was unable to supply.

Returning to work on Sunday, Miss Mundayun was still unable to provide purchase evidence for the trousers and as such was detained by store security who subsequently contacted police.

Police have now detained Miss Mundayun, who will be charged with theft and has been removed from her employment with Tesco-Lotus as a result.

Editor’s note: Although a relatively minor case of shoplifting and an all too regular occurrence being reported to the police at present, Miss Mundayun, based on the evidence, looks to have been the victim of a veritable ‘sting’ by the Tesco-Lotus management.

Reports of internal or staff thefts at businesses such as Tesco-Lotus are not uncommon, however incidents are extremely hard to prove. Proactive campaigns warning staff of the consequences of such crimes have proven to be the most effective deterrent, but still do not adequately manage the situation amongst the relatively meagrely paid employees.

Without trying to overly negate her crime, I would suggest that Miss Mundayun’s case conforms to the Thai proverb, “Slash a chicken to show a money”. Roughly translated, this proverb insinuates that Tesco-Lotus have seized on her offence to show other staff the consequence of such actions and to serve as a warning that it will not be tolerated.

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