Kiwi in Bali arrested for theft

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Charlotte Piho

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A New Zealand yoga instructor Charlotte Piho was arrested and released by police in Bali over the alleged theft of chocolate.

Charlotte Piho, a 30-year-old stand-up paddle boarder and yoga instructor, was seized at the Bintang Supermarket in Seminyak three weeks ago. Local press report that she was in the act of shoplifting Rp127,000 (NZ$17.30) of chocolate.

Website Bali Discovery Tours reported that Piho was seen by store security wandering around the aisles of the store with a large handbag, looking left and right, while depositing a stash of chocolates in the bag.

The woman, who hails from the Cook Islands, then departed the store without stopping at a cashier to pay.

Stopped by the store's security, the chocolate was found in her handbag and the woman was turned over to police at the Kuta station.

Piho later said that she always intended to pay for the chocolate and was astonished she could be locked up over such a mistake.

Piho's father Tuhe Piho told the Herald on Sunday that his daughter had travelled to Bali to improve her yoga techniques and gain further qualifications.

The elder Piho was quoted saying: "She rushed and hadn't prepared herself properly for going over there. She didn't have enough money to survive."

Piho was held overnight at the police station and required to report regularly to police while authorities consider handing her case to prosecutors for a possible criminal prosecution.