On Monday employees at a Super CD in Johannesburg, South Africa realized two PlayStation Vita systems were missing from the store's inventory. That was shocking, but not nearly as shocking as what they saw when they reviewed the closed-circuit television footage and discovered the culprit was a five or six-year-old girl.
What happened is pretty clear in the footage above. Three adults entered the store with the young girl in tow. While the adults distract the employees the girl slips behind the counter and grabs two PlayStation Vita boxes. She meets up with one of the adults, who seems to lay her jacket over the boxes in the child's arms before leaving the store.
Upon learning about the footage, store owner Karin Geldenhuys ordered her employees to search the shop, thinking perhaps the child had just set the Vitas down somewhere else in the store. Once she actually saw the footage she realized what had actually occurred.
"It was only once I looked at the video myself that I came to the shocking realisation that these people were using a young child in a despicable way. Something has to be missing in you as a human being if you are able to sink so low."
Geldenhuys places the blame solely on the adults, noting the girl's childish enthusiasm for the task at hand. "She hops up and down as if she is excited about what she has to do."
Authorities have been alerted, and the culprits will likely be apprehended. South Africa's Children's Act prohibits children under 10 years of age from being arrested or prosecuted, so the girl will be safe. Much safer than Geldenhuys believes she'll be if she sticks with her current company.
"If they use a child to commit theft, what will they use her for next?"
Six-Year-Old Girl steals PS Vita's
