Balliol student accused of muffin theft
Sainsbury's Local on Magdalen Street
A Balliol student feared for his sanity last week after being accused of shoplifting by a Sainsbury’s employee. The third year was queuing to pay on Wednesday night when a checkout worker pointed out an empty muffin wrapper in his hood and demanded that he pay for it. “That was the first I knew about it,” he said, “an assistant came over, and I told him that someone else must have put it there, because I didn’t eat it.
He brought over security, who brought over someone who said he’d seen the whole thing. “The witness wasn’t wearing any uniform, he was standing at the door smoking.” He was initially threatened with being barred from the store on Magdelen Street, and when he continued to deny the charges he was told the shop would call the police. “It was surprising, they were so insistent.
It made me doubt my own sanity, I thought I might have had a blackout… the injustice of it all was really annoying. I even showed them my clean teeth in an attempt to prove that I was innocent.” Store workers began to insist that CCTV footage would prove them correct, but when the student agreed to watch it they told him he could not see it without police presence. “I said that was fine, that I didn’t mind, but they changed tack and gave me a warning instead,” he said.
“I just couldn’t understand why they were making such a goddamn fuss.” Aslam Babamiya, Sainsbury’s duty manager, said he felt that, “all our customers are treated fairly, and we follow strict company guidelines. I fully support all of our staff, and our two security guards are excellent. They are obliged to approach anyone they think is being difficult.”.
10th Nov 2005