Thief made to wear sign around neck

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Man marched down street with 'thief' sign around neck after boss suspected him of stealing
By Andrew Levy
29th September 2008
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A man suspected of stealing hundreds of pounds was paraded along a busy shopping street with a sign saying 'thief' hanging around his neck. Mark Gilbert was being taken to a police station by work colleagues who claim the carpet fitter stole from the company. The 39-year-old - whose guilt is yet to be proven - was later arrested on suspicion of theft.

Being marched through the town smacks of medieval punishments, like being taken to the stocks, or tarring and feathering. But the treatment meted out by his boss and three co-workers backfired after they, too, were arrested for alleged offences including false imprisonment. The extraordinary scene unfolded in Witham, Essex, on Friday when red-faced Mr Gilbert was bundled out of a van in a busy shopping street. He was then escorted by his boss, Simon Cremer, around the corner to the local police station. Slung around his neck on a piece of cardboard was the message: 'THIEF. I stole £845. Am on my way to police station.'

A source at In House Flooring yesterday said Mr Gilbert had been at the company for six months and earned around £1,000 a week. The source added Mr Cremer, 41, had no regrets about the way he treated his employee, despite spending a night in a police cell. He has also been given three months notice to move by the horrified owner of the warehouse where the business rents space.

'He was very angry,' the source said. 'They took his keys off him and then they put him into the back of a van and drove him to a police station.' The source added: 'I don't think he regrets what he did but he knows in hindsight it wasn't the wisest decision. He should have called the police and asked them to come and get him.'

Essex police confirmed there were five people on bail in connection with the incident. A spokesman said: 'A 39-year-old man from Colchester has been arrested on suspicion of theft. A 44-year-old man from Halsted and a 22-year-old man from Witham were arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, assault and theft. On Saturday a 41-year-old from Maldon and a 42-year-old from Colchester were also arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment. They have all been released on police bail until November 27.' The spokesman added: 'It's important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty.'

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We lived in Witham for a few years when I was a kid - thank god we got out! I think this is the first news story I've ever seen from there, so it's interesting to see that the 'town centre' hasn't changed much... haha

[eefanincan]

I think the last line of the article says it all.... "It's important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty."

Glad to see it you still recognized the place though Face

[Skylace]

Now there's an over reaction for you.

[pirtybirdy]

Oh! I've been to Colchester. Kewl! Well, not so kewl for the guy dragged to the police station. Must be a small business. It's not a large amount of money.

[ItzMeRon]

Both people involved are assholes. And one of them will be penetrated by the law.

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Boss who marched thieving employee to police station is charged with false imprisonment... while thief gets off with a caution
27th November 2008[/align]
A boss who paraded an employee around the streets with a thief sign around his neck before taking him to a police station has been charged over the stunt. But employer Simon Cremer is outraged at the charges as his employee Mark Gilbert, who stole from him, only received a caution.

Self-confessed thief Mr Gilbert, 39, stole a cheque from the flooring firm where he worked, wrote it out for £845 and cashed it for holiday spending money. But when his boss discovered the deception he and three other workers bound Mr Gilbert's hands and marched him through a town centre to a police station wearing a sign which said: 'THIEF I stole £845, am on my way to police station'. But the stunt backfired after Mr Gilbert, who was arrested for theft, admitted the crime and was given a caution while Mr Cremer, and three workers, have been charged with false imprisonment.

Mr Cremer from Little Maplestead, Essex, said: 'We have been charged with false imprisonment. I'm pretty gutted to be honest, I can't believe the police system. I cannot believe that someone can do that (steal money) and get away with a caution and I've been charged with false imprisonment. I'm shocked.'

Mr Cremer and three workers, who have not been named, answered bail at Braintree Police Station in Essex, today hoping they too would received cautions from police, and were stunned when they were charged. The businessman who has run In-House Flooring for eight years said: 'We were all extremely shocked and surprised, especially as the other party had been let go with a caution.'

Mr Cremer, who has no previous criminal record, has been told to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in December. But he said he was told by legal advisers not to discuss whether or not he planned to plead guilty. Mr Gilbert, a father-of-three and grandfather-of-one from Colchester in Essex, claims he took the £845 as it was owned to him in wages and his boss was too busy to write out a cheque. A claim Mr Gilbert vehemently denied at the time. Mr Gilbert said after his ordeal that he was planning to sue his former boss for 'humiliation and upset' after being disowned by his family. But he admitted that even he was surprised when his boss was arrested.

He said: 'They frogmarched me to the police station. I was so relieved. They (police) took me round the back and said "You've got a bigger case against them". I thought "hang on I'm the criminal here".

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: 'Four men have been charged with false imprisonment in connection with an incident in Witham on Friday, September 26. 'A 44-year-old from Little Maplestead, a 23-year-old Witham and two men aged 22 from Tolleshunt D'Arcy and Tiptree have been bailed to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on December 10. A 39-year-old from Colchester has received a police caution in relation to a complaint of theft made in relation to this incident.'

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It's good to see the picture - everyone involved embarassed on a national scale... I doubt they'd have been charged with anything if they'd simply put the guy in a car and driven him to the cop shop though.

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Boss who frogmarched worker to police station after he stole £845 is forced to pay the THIEF £13,000 'for humiliating him'
15th February 2011[/align]
The boss who frogmarched a thieving employee to a police station after discovering he had stolen £845 from the company has been forced to pay the crook £13,000 for 'humiliating him'. Mark Gilbert, 40, was paraded through the streets of Witham in Essex, after his boss Simon Cremer discovered the father-of-three had written out a cheque for £845 to himself.

He was forced to wear a sign around his neck saying: 'THIEF. I Stole £845. Am on my way to the police station'. while furious Mr Cremer accompanied him to be quizzed by detectives. However, in a shocking twist, Gilbert was let off with a police caution - a slap on the wrist - while Mr Cremer was hauled before the courts accused of false imprisonment. The distraught employer was facing a possible lengthy jail sentence until the case eventually collapsed. But then Gilbert launched a civil claim for compensation and Mr Cremer's nightmare continued.

Now the employer has been forced to hand his thieving former employer £5,000 in compensation for the 'humiliation' he suffered. Mr Cremer, 47, also has to pay £8,000 in legal fees following the theft in Witham, Essex. He said: 'I think it's absolutely disgusting that he was even able to sue me after he had stolen from me to be honest. I don't want to give him a penny after what he did, so it really sticks in my throat. He stole from me yet he is the one who is walking away with the money. It makes me so angry.'

Thief Gilbert started legal action in an effort to claim for two years lost earnings and the 'distress' he suffered in October 2008. The floor-fitter claimed he had suffered trauma and distress and needed psychological help after the incident. The case had been due to come before a civil court yesterday, but father-of-two Mr Cremer said he could not risk the expense involved in a full hearing where he could potentially have faced a much higher payout. Instead he reluctantly paid Gilbert an out-of-court settlement rather than fight the case a be saddled with high legal bills.

Mr Cremer, who lives with his partner Karen Boardman, 45, who has been battling breast cancer in Little Maplestead, Essex, said: 'It would have cost me £25,000 just to go to court, so I had no option but to settle out of court. It would financially ruin me, it would break me. I would lose my business and I would risk losing my home because I would have to remortgage it. I am not happy with him getting a penny of my money. This has left me with no faith in the justice system whatsoever - absolutely none. I can't really afford a payout like this - times are hard for the business.'

Gilbert, formerly of Colchester, Essex, has since moved away from the area and is believed to be living in Bristol. He had earlier admitted writing the cheque out to himself and cashing it in claiming he was owed wages that he wanted to use for a holiday and his boss was too busy to write it himself. But staff at Cash Converters became suspicious and contacted Mr Cremer who called Gilbert into work to confront him along with three other workers.

Speaking after the incident in 2008 Gilbert said he feared he was going to be killed as he was bundled into the back of a van. He said: 'They laid into me, they beat me, I was begging Simon to let me go to the police, they said they didn't trust me and they had to tie me up. They were punching me and threatened me with various tools. They showed me the sign and made me say it out loud three times. They stopped at the pub, so they could march me through the streets. I wished the world would swallow me up, I hoped no one would recognise me. It was almost a relief when I saw the police station was in sight rather than a remote field.'

He claimed previously that he had suffered marks, bruises, a black eye and rope burns as a result of his ordeal and had suffered abuse and taunts since his photograph had appeared in local and national newspapers. Speaking about the boss he stole from he added: 'I feel for the bloke, I respect the bloke but I want him to pay for what he's done. I went in my local pub and felt a cold shoulder. I wanted to face people, to deal with it face on. I think this is going to have a long term effect. I probably deserved it for what I did, fair enough but I wasn't stealing from him and I paid the money back.'

Mr Cremer, his brother Andrew, 43, and two colleagues were hauled into court on criminal charges but to their relief the case against them was dropped in December 2008.

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HAHA!

They're a couplafannies as the old saying up here goes...