Pregnant Woman, 38 Weeks Along, Accused of Hiding Stolen Goods in Her Belly at Selayang Hypermarket

A man has spoken out after his wife, 38 weeks pregnant, was treated "like a criminal" by hypermarket staff in Selayang, Malaysia, who accused her of concealing stolen merchandise inside her baby bump. 

According to a post shared on Threads by user @Fareezshah10, the incident occured right after the couple had finished paying for their groceries, when they were stopped by a male staff member. He said the situation escalated when the staffer looked directly at his wife's stomach before asking, "Do you have anything hidden in there?"

When the husband demanded proof of the theft accusation, staff instead asked for the couple's "Buku Pink", Malaysia's official maternal health record booklet, as proof of pregnancy, before directing his wife, to show part of her stomach to demostrate nothing was concealed underneath. 

"Imagine a woman who is 38 weeks pregnant being asked to prove she's really pregnant just because the shape of stomach was considered suspecious. I lost my patience and demanded they produce evidence, a witness, and call a supervisor if they truly believed my wife had stolen something", he said. 

The couple were then made to wait alomost 20 minutes in front of other customers while staff contacted a supervisor, an experience he said left his wife feeling humiliated and distressed. 

When the supervisor finally arrived, the cashier who had made the accusation was asked to explain herself, and admitted she had never actually seen the wife take anything. "As it turns out, she only suspected my wife because she felt her stomach didn't look like a typical pregnant belly, and assumed something must be hidden there. In reality, there was no witness, no evidence, and nothing missing", the husband said. 

The post has since gone viral on social media, sparking widespread criticis, of the store staff's handling of the situation.