Watch: Mother Uses Kids To Steal Handbag At Restaurant

A CCTV footage released Friday showed a woman with three children stealing another woman’s bag at Steers restaurant in Paarl Mall, Cape Town, South Africa.

In the video, the family of four can be seen standing behind a woman who is sitting at a restaurant table with her bag kept next to her on the floor. The youngest child tries to grab the bag but is unable to get it.

A few minutes later, the family moves closer to the victim. The mother is then seen taking her cellphone out of her pocket while the eldest daughter skillfully takes the bag from underneath the table. The family then walks away together with nobody noticing.

South African Police Services spokesperson, Captain FC Van Wyk confirmed the incident and said “A theft case is currently being investigated by the Paarl Police. No other incidents pertaining to the suspects in the footage have been reported to SAPS Paarl before or after the incident of the 11th. Detectives are following up on all leads, investigations continue,” local daily Cape Town ETC reported.

In a statement on Monday, Steers management said it is “disturbed by the content of the video showing crime taking place at our Steers Paarl Mall restaurant early in November. Steers has a zero-tolerance policy to crime. We apologise to the patron affected by the incident and we would like to assure our customers that their safety is paramount to us. It is our understanding that a case of theft has been opened and we are will cooperate with local authorities in their investigation.”

“A lady reported that her bag was stolen but unfortunately there was nothing we could do but advise her to go report the matter to the Mall’s management. We are not sure what happened thereafter,” Steers Paarl manager Samantha William had initially said, News 24 reported.