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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Shoplifter Ordered To Sing For Judge

Compiled From Wire Services

Ana Cristina Leandro dos Santos is no stool pigeon. But she must sing for a judge for the next year.

The 22-year-old woman was caught stealing shampoo, talcum powder and perfume from a shop in Recife in northeastern Brazil and could have been sentenced to four years in prison for the crime.

But Judge Jose Caubi Arraes decided to take a novel approach in Thursday’s sentencing: The highschool dropout must sing the national anthem for him for a year, write down the song’s words once a week and complete high school.

“Sending her to jail would have not done her or society any good, so instead I opted for an alternative sentence,” Arraes said Friday.

Arraes said he also has ordered petty thieves to clean cemeteries, wash bodies in a city morgue and pray while washing church floors.