Woman, 70, to serve time for theft

GIFU--The district court here Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old woman to two years in prison for shoplifting a plastic eraser worth 98 yen from a supermarket.

The sentence is without a stay of execution, which means the woman, a repeat offender, must serve the term.

Presiding Judge Satoshi Miyamoto said the woman had a previous record of shoplifting and other offenses, and the nature of her crime "reflected her experience."

He accepted the amount in question was negligible, but said the woman could not avoid prison. The woman was released from prison in January and has been living alone on welfare.(IHT/Asahi: July 16,2009)