Small, portable, expensive and hard to trace. A young police officer in Samoa must have been thinking the same things most that most iPod thieves think when he devised a plan to get his hands on Apple’s portable music player.
And evidently that “gotta-have-it” impulse was strong enough not only to push him to cross the line between law enforcer and law breaker — but to plan a break-in to get the iPod from the office of the head of state.
23-year-old police officer Aumua Marcus Hunt first pleaded not guilty to one charge of theft, but then copped to stealing the iPod from the government office.
The break-in happened last July when Hunt forced his way into the office to get his hands on an iPod that belongs to principal research officer, Naomi Fuamatu. Both he and another officer were charged with breaking into the office while on duty. In addition to the iPod, a laptop and a DVD player were also reported missing.
Hunt will be sentenced later this month, when District Court Judge Matafeo George Latu evaluates the evidence he ordered from the prosecution about the victim impact of the iPod theft and a probation report. As part of his bail conditions, the disgraced police officer must also sign in at the police station once a week.
Perhaps Hunt could have said he was part of an awareness campaign — like the one in the UK where police officers dressed up as thieves to remind homeowners to put away their valuable gadgets, especially ones like iPods.
Sources: Samoa News, Samoa Observer
