A man has been caught on CCTV stealing a dairy's charity donation box meant for children battling kidney disease.
The owner of the Tararu Store and Bait Station in Thames, Dilpreet, told Newshub a man came into the store on Wednesday to buy a drink. Afterwards he asked Dilpreet to fill his water bottle, which he did.
"He asked me to refill his water bottle from the back kitchen so I refilled his water bottle and then he just suddenly left the store," he told Newshub.
"My wife was cleaning the front and she said to check the cameras because he left so suddenly. I checked the camera and saw that he took the donation box."
The donation box was for the charity Kidney Kids which supports children and their whānau with kidney disease.
To add insult to injury, Dilpreet said just a few days ago he gave the man a free pie and drink because he told him he was hungry and had no money.
"A couple of days ago [before the theft]… He came into the store and he told me that he was hungry and needed something to eat but he didn't have any money.
"I was like, 'Okay you can just grab a pie' and he asked me for a water bottle and I said, 'take any from the fridge' so he took the pie and water bottle and left.
"I feel bad because I feel like, 'Why are you doing this? I gave you free food and drink a few days before so why are you doing this?'
CCTV footage from the dairy shows the man buying a drink and giving Dilpreet his bottle to fill. Dilpreet walks out of the frame and the man can be seen slowly grabbing the donation box and his drink before walking straight out.
Kidney Kids Chief Executive Officer Keith Mackenzie told Newshub it was disappointing someone stole money from sick kids.
"You know you just think what a low life to be stealing from a children's charity," he told Newshub.
Mackenzie said the charity relies entirely on donations from the public and coin boxes play a key role in that.
"We very seriously rely on public donations, grants from a few community organisations and corporate donations and the public donations are the biggest area over the year for us and coin boxes are a part of that."
Police told Newshub they received a report of a theft on Tararua Road on May 9.
They said the case is currently being assessed and no arrests have been made.
Kidney Kids supports more than 400 families nationwide.
Click here to donate to the charity.
