Two women charged after Woolworths toilet paper fight

Two women will face a NSW court after a fight over toilet paper in a Sydney supermarket.

Footage of the incident went viral on social media in March amid widespread panic buying of toilet paper.

Footage of the incident went viral on social media in March amid widespread panic buying of toilet paper. Source: Facebook

Two women have been charged after a fight over toilet paper broke out at a Sydney supermarket, prompting police to issue reminders the spread of coronavirus has not created a Mad Max-esque dystopia.

A video of the incident went viral on social media and showed a group of women yelling and fighting over a packet of toilet paper amid panic buying.

The video shows one woman pulling the hair of another during the heated altercation at a Woolworths store in Chullora on Saturday morning.

One woman yells: "I just want one packet."

A 49-year-old woman, who had allegedly been assaulted, was not injured.

Two other women, aged 23 and 60, have been charged with affray and will appear in Bankstown Local Court on 28 April.



NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was unimpressed by the women's behaviour and reminded the public that coronavirus was not fatal for most people.

"I cannot understand the logic - we have a big factory in Penrith that produces toilet paper, a big factory in South Australia that has pallets moving out the door," Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Sunday.

"Everybody please stay calm and be rational, we have everything we need."
NSW Police acting inspector Andrew New said after Saturday's incident that people were panicking needlessly because there are sufficient supplies.

"It's not the Thunderdome, it's not Mad Max, we don't need to do that," he said.

Supermarkets have begun imposing limits on the sale of toilet paper after having their shelves stripped by hysterical shoppers.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Two women charged after Woolworths toilet paper fight | SBS News