'I'll be back tomorrow': family terrorised by brazen youth shoplifters

Detailed summary

Tuggeranong family says groups of youth are targeting their business.

A child, about 12 years old, laughs at shop owners as they ask her to return an item she took without paying.

"Put it down?" she asks, appearing to mock the owners who are filming her on their phones.

The girl smiles as she returns the item and states her full name and address for the video.

"Hi, my name is ... I live at ... I've been with security before, and I'll be back tomorrow. Love you, bye," the child, squeezing a squishie toy between her french tip nails, says before flipping her hair back and walking away.

The incident is among several confrontations, juvenile thefts and brazen threats that have left a family fearing for their safety and the future of their business.

Stocking colourful displays of squishies, soft plush toys, accessories and daily home sundries, the family-run Miniso shop in Tuggeranong has no concept of a weekend.

Behind the counter, seven days a week, stand a 58-year-old father and a 55-year-old mother who have poured their lives into keeping their doors open 365 days a year.

The parents, who intervene when they suspect shoplifting, said their business was losing about $100 a day to different groups of children stealing and threatening to steal.

"We are immigrants. We've been here for four years, and then it's just got worse and worse this year," their 24-year-old son, Mario, said.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Canberra Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.