The 35-year-old customer of a Libiąż county supermarket (Małopolskie Voivodeship) got into trouble after she misplaced the fruit while using the self-service cash register. The police remind us that in such a case the amount of damage does not matter and that fraud can be punished with up to eight years in prison.
In her basket were plums, tangerines and pears. She chose grapefruit.
The rising prices in the shops let us think about how we can save on shopping. A 35-year-old woman from Libiąż had an idea that was not entirely legal and had serious consequences. The woman put plums, tangerines and pears in her basket. When she went to the self-service cash register, she decided to scan all the fruits as grapefruit that were on sale at the time. It reduced the receipt by PLN 10,82. Was it worth it? No, because the resident of the Libiąż will now face terrible consequences.
She checked out the fruit improperly. Now, a 35-year-old woman is facing up to eight years in prison.
It should be recalled that self-service cash registers, although they do not require the presence of a shop assistant, are under constant supervision of supermarket staff. A woman who wanted to save money was caught in the act when the shop staff checked the contents of her shopping cart according to the procedures. The attempt to save about 11 PLN ended with a phone call to the police and caused serious problems for the 35-year-old. Now the resident of Libiąż faces a prison sentence of up to 8 years.
According to Article 278 of the Criminal Code, theft is punishable by imprisonment from three months to five years. Why can a woman go to prison for a maximum of eight years? It turns out that crimes committed at a self-service cash register have a very different legal qualification from the mere “carrying” of a product from a shop. The crime shall be regarded as an attempt to defraud, for which the law imposes a completely different penalty.