A 20-year-old prankster was arrested after recording himself contaminating store products with his saliva.
Benjamin Best was shopping at a Lidl store in Bridport, England, when he thought it would be funny if he licked his fingers and spread his saliva on supermarket products as a part of his “joke.”
While allegedly shopping for supplies for his grandparents on April 3, Best had rubbed his fingers on his tongue before wiping them on a pack of paper tissues.
Following his stunt, the prankster shared the video of himself in the act on Snapchat, prompting upset viewers to alert the police.
After being arrested and charged with interfering with goods, the 20-year-old pleaded guilty. Besides being ordered to pay a fine of just over $100, Best was given an 18-month community order. He will also be forced to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
“He was wearing a mask and gloves and licked two fingers in his mouth and then preceded to swipe those fingers across paper napkins on the shelf,” prosecutor Charles Nightingale said.
“He thought it was a joke. He thought his friends would find it funny. But it wasn’t. Some people who saw it reported it to the police.”
According to the prosecutor, the defendant insisted that he bought the paper tissues he had contaminated but failed to show a receipt that would prove his claim.
“It was a prank but he realizes it was an utterly stupid action and that it was done without thought,” Nightingale added.
While the defendant’s representative, Ian Brazier, agreed that Best’s stunt was “stupid,” he suggested that “this was done at the spur of the moment for a laugh” and that his client regrets it “profoundly.”
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Replaced!