Sahar Mourad
Legal

Pensioner catches closet thief red-handed

A pensioner has caught his neighbour stealing money from him after installing a camera in his wardrobe. 

John Rennie is legally blind and thought he was going insane when his money kept disappearing from his wardrobe.

After installing a camera, the 79-year-old was shocked to find his neighbour, rummaging through his wardrobe and safe stealing his money. 

"I was gutted when I saw who was coming into my home and taking my cash," he told A Current Affair.

Pav Taak, his 47-year-old neighbour who would occasionally come look after him, was caught four times stealing money. 

John said that he would forget his key sometimes and left a spare in the garden and believes that’s how Taak was able to get in.

The passcode for the safe was also written down which gave Taak easy access.

One hundred dollars that was put aside for John’s daughter’s birthday was stolen, as well as $400 that was left inside a suit pocket. 

John and his son presented the CCTV footage to police and Taak was charged with three counts of entering a premises with intent and one count of burglary.

Taak pleaded guilty and was given a nine-month prison sentence that was immediately suspended. He was also ordered to pay back $200 in compensation. 

John said that “that’s no justice” and that Taak got away “scott-free”. 

"He's shown no remorse at all and he's still out there driving a cab, even though his family told me he'd lose his licence because of the conviction.” 

Images: A Current Affair

Tags:
John Rennie, thief, steal, money, pensioner