Serial Thief Finally Caught After 34 Convictions, Received 15 Years in Prison After Shoplifting From Cotton On

• A Cape Town woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing from a Cotton On store in Pretoria
• Upon her arrest, it was discovered that she has been shoplifting since 1981 and has 31 pending charges
• Her sentence was handed down with the intention of deterring her from continuing to steal after her release

PRETORIA - Denise Williams, a woman from Cape Town stole two pairs of leggings from a Cotton On branch in Pretoria. Once she was arrested, it was discovered that she is a serial shoplifter with 34 prior theft charges.

Williams has received 15 years imprisonment. In the last 40 years she has been charged with shoplifting 34 times, 5 of which occurred between 2011 and 2020. She currently has 31 pending convictions for which she is awaiting trial.

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According to News24, Williams attempted to steal nearly R800 worth of leggings from Cotton On by putting them in her handbag in the dressing room.

Reason for Williams' 15-year sentence

Lumka Mahanjana, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said that Williams needed to be imprisoned as she has been shoplifting since 1981 with no sign of remorse or changing her ways, Jacaranda FM reports.

Mahanjana said that Williams could be named a habitual criminal under section Section 286 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The prosecutor in Williams' case, Rabia Ebrahim, is pushing for her to be classified in these terms.

Ebrahim fears that a short sentence will not deter Wiliams from stealing again. The NPA have expressed their gratitude for the sentence Williams was given.

South Africa reacts to serial shoplifter

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@EugeneDevon007 asked:

"When is a person a serial thief?"

@Ke_Morakile said:

"Those who've stolen a million more times than her from the state purse are still roaming the streets."

@RozzNotRoss believes:

"What if she suffers from “kleptomania”? She needs rehabilitation/psychological help not prison time."

@Alfredkhuzwayo4 shared:

"Yet the hundreds of millions stolen by the ANC is ignored."

@LifestyleZ18 said:

"She sounds like someone who needs therapy, instead of incarceration."

Mzansi laughing at thief who runs out of airtime while busy with a robbery

Previously Briefly News reported that Yusuf Abramjee has shared another video where thugs are trying to benefit from their ugly ways but the video is so funny.

The clip shows two guys who are robbing a community and also kidnapping a security officer.The two thugs also force the security officer seat in the back of the van but they seem to struggle to get out of the area.

South Africans find the clip so funny as the other thugs run out of airtime trying to make a call and find directions for a way out of the neighbourhood.

Source: Briefly News