Canteen lady with OCD stole for skincare

An Australian hospital canteen lady who stole $1300 a week to feed her obsessive compulsion for using skin care products has been handed a two-year suspended sentence. Elaine Pearl Bartlett, of Dianella in Perth's north, pleaded guilty in June to stealing more than $186,000 between 2004 and 2009 while working as a canteen attendant at Princess Margaret Hospital.

During those five years, the 57-year-old, whose responsibility was preparing money for banking, stole $170,202 in cash takings at a rate of $1300 a week. Bartlett did this by deleting details of customer purchases from the computerised cash register and physically stealing some of the bank notes she was counting.



She also admitted to stealing a further $16,610 which officers from the state's corruption watchdog, the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC), found in plastic bags when they searched her home. Chief Judge Peter Martino said she used the money to fund the cost of skin care products, which she had developed an obsessive compulsion for using.

"Since being charged with these offences, you have taken steps to address your disorder by seeking appropriate medical treatment," Chief Judge Martino told Perth District Court. "It is likely that you will require treatment for a number of years."