A cheeky shopper has been caught tampering with a car parked in a popular Westfield, oblivious to the nearby cameras recording his every move.
The man was caught dragging a key down the side of a car, believed to be a Tesla, at the Westfield Marion shopping center in Adelaide’s south on Monday.
The alleged vandal, dressed in dark gray pants and a light gray Everlast hooded T-shirt, looked in both directions to see if anyone was watching before entering the car.
And while the car’s side camera captured the man’s back, its rear camera filmed the man’s face as he walked along the side.
Westfield said the owner of the vehicle had reported the incident to the centre’s management, but South African police have yet to receive an official report.
The incident is the latest in a series of key incidents across Australia, in which high-end electric vehicles are often the target.
In another similar incident, a 77-year-old man was charged with destroying or damaging property after its owner, David Shannon, caught him tampering with an electric vehicle.
Shannon shared footage of the man dragging a key over the side of his Tesla parked in Queanbeyan in the ACT on September 19.
The buyer was captured putting the key in the car on the vehicle’s external camera (pictured)
He approached the car, believed to be a Tesla, in broad daylight at Westfield Marion (pictured).
An investigation led officers to a nearby home on Sept. 24 and charges were subsequently filed.
The 77-year-old will face Queanbeyan Local Court on November 11.
Last year, Raymond and Barbara Edward were caught on a dash cam tampering with a Tesla and a BMW at Brisbane’s Brookside shopping centre.
The couple claimed it was “out of character” for them and that they did it because they believed the car cut them off in traffic.
Mr. Edwards was ordered to pay $2,443 in damages, and Barbara was assessed a restitution cost of $897.
In March, an elderly man was caught locking a car parked in the parking lot of the Uni Hill shopping center in Melbourne.
In 2020, a woman was also filmed locking a Tesla, saying it had been parked in a car-accessible space when it shouldn’t have been.