7 October 2008 714 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

A student, who was told by an internet chatroom friend to steal in order to help relieve stress, was ordered to pay £60 in costs after pleading guilty to one count of shoplifting more than £350 worth of goods.

Lin Yang, who was described by her university lecturer as “honest and diligent”, stole items from John Lewis in Broad Street because she was overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to do.

The University of Bristol student, was under a considerable amount of stress whilst studying for her fourth year in engineering and followed the advice of another chatroom user named “Beggar”. Zahida Ahmed, defending, explained Yang “feels the competition because English is not her first language. She is completely stressed by the situation. A person said shoplifting was a good way to relieve stress. She took that advice and proceeded to shoplift.”

Andrew Isaacs, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was seen entering John Lewis. She walked around the shop, picking up items and trying them on. She made no attempts to pay. She was asked back in the shop.”

Yang, a short and quiet individual, was granted an 18-month conditional discharge in additional to her fine.