Man jailed for cheating supermarket 26 times using self-checkout machine to get free groceries

He would scan the items, then cancel them. Chang would then scan the barcode for a drink worth 50 cents or 70 cents, so that his purchase of multiple items would be approved even though he had only paid 50 cents or 70 cents for a drink.

Chang continued this method until Mar 21, when he again used the self-checkout machine at the supermarket.

A loss prevention officer saw that Chang was acting suspiciously and waited outside for him.

As Chang was leaving, the officer stopped him and requested to see his receipt. Chang did not produce it, so another staff member printed out his receipt. The receipt showed that he had paid for a drink, but several other items were found in Chang’s bag.

Further investigations revealed his past cheating offences.

Chang has made full restitution. The unrepresented man gave a written mitigation plea to the court, which was not read out in open court.

When asked if he had anything else to say, he said: “I just pray that I won’t go to jail. I really regret what I did.”

The judge told him that his charge had a mandatory custodial or jail sentence, and that the only question was how long it would be.

She said she could not ignore the fact that there were 26 occasions of cheating, but noted that the amount involved was “not particularly significant” and that Chang has made restitution.

For cheating, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined. As his charge was amalgamated, meaning it involved multiple instances of the same offence, the maximum penalties could have been doubled.