A heartless thief has been caught on CCTV, allegedly stealing a charity donation box placed at a Launceston news agency to raise funds for those doing it tough over Christmas.
The suspect was captured in the act, having come prepared with a pair of scissors she had hidden down her top, ready for the right moment to cut the container free before placing it in her bag.
Staff at the Meadow Mews news agency called the brazen incident a “very low act”.
“[The] woman came in, stood at the counter, talked to the staff and then when they were distracted, [stole the box],” Jeff Dolbey from the agency told 7 Tasmania.
“People donate for needy people at Christmas time, [it was] pretty low life for Christmas.”
The incident occurred on December 29, but wasn’t discovered until the charity came to collect the hundreds of dollars in donations.
“It wasn’t there so we thought, ‘Oh, what’s happened?’,” Dolbey said.
“We went back through our camera, through the footage and found that someone had taken it.”
Tasmania Police say they have identified the suspect but, at this stage, no charges have been laid.
