Three Brazilian women started sobbing in the dock and thanking Judge Nevin Dawson in the Queenstown District Court yesterday when told they would escape conviction for stealing groceries from their employer. All three sought discharges through their separate counsel on grounds the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the gravity of their offending. ''You succumbed to that peer pressure and you did so wrongly. Judge Dawson said he was persuaded the women were ''otherwise very good people'' but they allowed themselves to be ''involved in other people's bad behaviour''. Chedid was ordered to pay $145.60 reparation, while Fernand was ordered to pay $16.95 reparation.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 23, 2017 18:33 UTC