CAIRO – A Muslim manager of a Malaysian branch of Tesco has offered a man a job in the British retailer store after catching him shoplifting goods to feed his family.

“He was not a regular thief,” Radzuan Ma’asan, general manager of the store in Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia, told Malaysia Star last March.

“When we questioned him, he immediately confessed, saying that he stole the fruits and drinks because his son was hungry.”

Ma’asan caught the 31-year-old man, who was not named, while trying to shoplift some juices.

“I had quit my job as a contract worker after my wife fell into a coma during a birth complication last week. She is still warded at the Bukit Mertajam hospital,” said the man whose family is from Kuala Nerang, Kedah.

“After walking for more than an hour, we went to the food section and I grabbed the pears, apples and a few bottles of drinks,” he said, adding he was caught on the way out.

Interrogating the man, Ma’asan decided to take a different approach in dealing with the crime, offering him a job at the store.

“The man’s situation really touched our hearts. We visited his relative’s house. It was so empty and poor,” he said yesterday.

Theft is Haram (forbidden) in Islam according to the Qur’an, Sunnah [sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him] and scholarly consensus.

Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, suspended theft punishment during the year of famine.

“In my 23 years of experience in the retail line, I had never come across thieves who admitted their act so easily. Most would give all kinds of reasons. He also told us that he was unable to work as he has to look after his three children, aged two to seven.

“So, we decided not to lodge a police report as this was a genuine case of extreme poverty.

“For now, our priority is to ensure that he enrolls his seven-year-old son in a school,” said Radzuan, who handed the man cash to cover his current expenses.

Editors Note: The story was first published on March 15, 2016, and was highlighted for its significance.