Mailman who stole homeowner's tomatoes apologizes with a gift

Peckish postman sorry for on-the-job plant snack This week, we covered the story of a postman caught plucking fruit from a customer’s hanging planters. This morning, he apologized publicly.

A Canada Post employee will not be disciplined for snacking on produce belonging to Montreal homes along his route – but he has tried to make up for the theft.

The employee, who was caught on security video earlier this week, sent a container of tomatoes to Paula Habib after her own tomatoes began to disappear last month. It was accompanied by a note from Canada Post.

“Dear Ms. Habib, I am writing to apologize to you for the recent incident that took place at your address,” Canada Post wrote in the letter.

The mailman did not deliver the apology or tomatoes in person. A different Canada Post employee stopped by on Friday to make the special delivery.

When Habib asked about the mailman, the Canada Post employee said, “He’s feeling very bad about it.”

“I'm not here to have him lose his job. I know everybody is hard-working and I just feel that it wasn't right,” Habib told CTV Montreal.

Canada Post said the employee was spoken to and will not be disciplined.

Habib first noticed tomatoes disappearing from the hanging plant outside her home in June. At first, she assumed the culprit was a squirrel. But footage from a security camera – originally installed over concerns about stolen Amazon packages -- showed the mailman nibbling on the fresh tomatoes on three occasions.

The video also appeared to show the same mailman eating a neighbour’s strawberries.

The discovery caught Habib by surprise.

“It's a lesson that we can all learn. At the end of the day, (it’s) somebody stealing from your personal property and it’s not right.”

As for the mailman’s token of apology, Habib said she plans to make a salad.

With a report from CTV Montreal’s Kelly Greig