From The New Zealand Herald:

Woolworths has changed its mind and overturned a ban against a five-year-old and eight-year-old caught stealing a bag of lollies.

The youngsters were given trespass notices banning them for two years after they were nabbed at the store last Saturday.

The Timaru Herald reported the girls were with an 18-year-old who left the Woolworths supermarket before the two were caught with the $1.50 bag of sweets.

They were forced to sign the trespass notices banning them from both Woolworths and Countdown.

Today Foodtown and Woolworths manager Dave Chambers said there had been an error of judgment in giving trespass notices to children so young and without their parents’ knowledge.

It was company policy to contact children’s parents or guardians in such cases, and usually to issue trespass orders only to shoplifters aged over 14.

He would contact the families and apologise.

Wait, what the hell is wrong with them?

So first of all, what responsible parent or 18 year old leaves two children 5 and 8 years of age alone in a supermarket? That’s just stupid. Lucky there are no pedophiles, rapists or murderers in New Zealand.

Secondly, why the hell is Woolworths apologizing? I don’t really see what they did wrong! So it’s okay for a five year old to shoplift $1.50? Sweet. Why don’t I rock up to a primary school offering 5 year olds the chance to make .50c per bag of lollies they steal from my local Woolworths! It’s okay though, they’re only 5. They’ll even apologize to me!

Seriously, if your 5 year old kid doesn’t know that shoplifting is bad, then there is no hope left for them.

It starts out as innocent shoplifting, and it gets worse, and worse, and worse.