Charity withdraws collection boxes

The man steals the collection box at the Plastic Box store in Westgate in Waitakere City.

Oxfam is withdrawing its tsunami disaster appeal collection boxes from Auckland shops, blaming a spate of thefts.

The charity says it has lost four boxes in less than a week, including one that was tied to the counter.

On Friday, a box containing about $300 was taken from the Plastic Box store at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Waitakere City.

Waitakere police said the theft was filmed by the store's security cameras. They are seeking two men.

On the videotape one of the men distracts a store attendant while the other stuffs the box under his jacket and leaves.

Oxfam has about 800 boxes in stores nationwide and has raised $80,000 from them.

The charity will not say how many are being withdrawn in Auckland or how much money it fears it has lost overall.

'The public must feel confident that the money they donate is going to trusted sources," said Oxfam New Zealand director Barry Coates.

"It is unfortunate that one or two individuals can take advantage of such a tragedy to line their own pockets."

The charity has so far raised $1.25 million in public donations and says that giving on the street has slowed, though corporate donations of up to $50,000 are streaming in.

The Red Cross says it has no plans to follow suit despite two thefts of its collection boxes from counters of Mad Butcher shops in Orewa and Christchurch.

A woman who stole the Orewa collection bucket containing about $250 was convicted of theft.

A security guard was convicted of stealing an envelope from a locked cupboard at Tauranga Hospital. It contained $48 for the Red Cross.