Wednesday 25 September 2013

'Model pupil' turned in by mother after refusing to finish his tea

A “model pupil” was handed over to police by his mother after he refused to finish the food that had been cooked for him.

The 15-year-old thought he was being clever when he told his mother he did not want to eat the rest of his tea at his home in Liverpool, a court heard.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was told by his mother that he will eat all of his food or she would take him to the police station to have him arrested, on Friday afternoon, Liverpool Youth Court was told.

After he continuously refused to finish his food, complaining that he was "too full", he was sent to his bedroom with all of his luxuries confiscated.

Ten minutes later he was given another chance to eat his tea but still he refused to comply, so he was turned over to the police by his mother.

Under the Food Wasting Act 2013 it is now a criminal offense for anyone under 18 to not eat all of their meals, including breakfast, lunch, tea, supper and any basic snack. The boy is believed to be the first in the UK to have committed this crime.

The boy's mother wept at the back of the court as her son, wearing a black suit, white shirt and tie, was brought into the dock.

He entered guilty pleas after confirming his name, age and address.

Sending the case to Liverpool Crown Court for sentence, District Judge Ian Lomax said: "This is a very serious matter. There are people in parts of Africa who are starving to death whom would be disgusted at you for carrying out this crime.

“It's a bizarre, surreal case of a young man acting like a four year old. Nevertheless this is so serious that he will have to be punished by the crown court."

The boy was a "model pupil" at school and was not known for misbehaving, the court was told.

After his arrest he told police he did not want to finish his food because he was full from eating loads of chocolate an hour earlier, the court heard.

Mr Lomax said his crime was "motivated by a full stomach" but that it was his responsibility for filling it up so close to tea time.

Debra Chan, prosecuting, told the court that the crime was carried out in the kitchen of the boy's house at 4.25pm on Friday.

His mother had just cooked him a meal consisting of McCain fries and Birds Eye fish fingers along with a glass of Coca Cola.

She said he had eaten about just over half of the meal before telling his mother "I'm not hungry, I don't want anymore", before pushing the plate away from him.

The mother replied "But Sweetie, you have to finish your food, it's a legal requirement." before adding: "If you don't you could face serious consequences."

The boy still refused to eat the rest of his food and eventually his mother got fed up, sent him to his room and took away his luxuries including his laptop and Xbox 360 as well as grounding him for the entire weekend, Miss Chan said.

The boy's mother gave him one last chance to clear his plate and when he persistently refused, she took him down to the police station, the court heard.

He told police: "I didn't want to finish my food because I wasn't hungry, I ate too much chocolate on the way home from school."

The boy also told officers that he planned to put his food in the fridge for later so he wouldn't waste it, but he wasn't given that option.

Miss Chan said: "He did want to put his food in the fridge to eat at a later point, but his mother did not give him that option, it was either then or never."

The court heard that the boy was upset over losing his gadgets and being sent to bed early, especially on a Friday night, but it still did not convince him to eat his food "so his mother had no choice but to take him to the police."

Miss Chan said the mother did not really want to take him to the police because it would mean her son having a criminal record, but she was prepared to do it to "teach him a lesson". The boy apologised for what he had done.

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