Woman guilty of looting during Bris floods
Nick Gibbs |
A woman has admitted her role in the looting of electrical cables, pot plants and a tool box during extreme flooding in southeast Queensland.
Stacey Rae Walther, 26, pleaded guilty in Richlands Magistrates Court on Wednesday to a single charge of stealing by looting in a natural disaster.
Just before midnight on March 3, police allegedly found her and a co-accused man with items taken from a flood-affected area in Oxley, west of Brisbane.
Walther was the behind the wheel of a car that contained the looted goods, while the alleged co-offender is accused of putting the items in the car.
Although looting during a natural disaster is “despicable’, acting magistrate Rowan Silva said it was apparent Walther was not the principal offender.
In sentencing, he said it appeared the items taken were left outside a property affected by flood water and he accepted Walther’s remorse.
Mr Silva also noted the value of the items was low, and Walther felt an implied threat to participate in the offending.
She was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and no conviction was recorded.
About 7800 homes were damaged during the disaster, 4000 of which are considered uninhabitable, according to figures from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
AAP
