A Glasgow business owner has issued a warning after a man was caught on CCTV stealing a worker’s phone and credit cards.
Benjawan Torrance’s wife had just opened The Thai Bar & Restaurant on Kilmarnock Road when a man entered and asked if he could have hot water for his Pot Noodle at around 12.30pm on Saturday, January 4. Feeling sorry for the man, staff at the Shawlands diner decided to grant his request after he stated that he was ‘very hungry’.
In the CCTV footage, the man can be seen checking where Benjawan’s wife’s phone is before swiping the mobile and placing it in his pocket. Benjawan told Glasgow Live: “My wife was in the kitchen area, and the guy came into the shop and asked if he could have hot water for his Pot Noodle because he was very hungry.
“On the CCTV, you can see him checking where my wife is and where the phone is. He moves away before returning and quickly putting it in his pocket.
“My wife wasn’t aware it had been stolen at the time because a bag was in the way.”
The theft was only noticed around 15 minutes later when Benjawan came to collect his wife and the pair couldn’t find the device. After checking a watch that was linked to the device they realised that it wasn’t in the shop and could have been stolen.
He added: “My wife was in a panic because her credit cards were with my phone. We immediately phoned the banks to cancel them.”
Unfortunately, by the time the cards were cancelled, the couple realised that the thief had already been to Morrisons and completed five or six transactions totalling more than £300 across both.
He continued: “We are still waiting to see what the final numbers are because even after we cancelled the cards charges were still trickling in. They just kept pumping them until they got stopped.
“This wasn’t an opportunist. This was pre-meditated.
“It is horrible because as my wife said it is not in your nature to turn someone away who is hungry. It was during that period where it was really cold. It really hurt my wife because she was just trying to be nice.”
Benjawan is now warning other business owners in the area to be vigilant following the theft.
Police Scotland has been contacted comment.
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