Influencer jailed for stealing £18 worth of groceries and daily essentials including soap and vegetables

An influencer has been jailed after she pleaded guilty to stealing £18 worth of everyday items, including soap. Rumaisyah Yahya, aged 31, of Malaysia, Southeast Asia, was sentenced to one day in jail and also fined RM 400 (£70) after she admitted stealing the goods. She had also taken air freshener, toothpaste and broccoli from a store without paying for them.

Yahya, who goes by the handle @sasha.romee on Instagram, has more than 230,000 followers on the social media platform. She describes herself as a digital creator with a focus on lifestyle, beauty and fitness.

The influencer, who is also a yoga instructor, reportedly stole the daily essentials "out of necessity", according to her lawyer. Rumaisyah committed the offence at 4.30pm on November 1, at a supermarket in a prominent shopping centre on Jalan Ampang, a major Malaysian road.

After putting the items in her bag, she then went to another part of the supermarket before leaving without going to the checkout first. She was then stopped by a security guard who found the goods and, after asking for a receipt for them which Yahya couldn’t produce, apprehended her for shoplifting.

Lawyer Muhammad Rhastdan Abdul Wahab asked for the court's leniency, saying that his client had no fixed income and was supporting a 65-year-old mother. He also explained that Yahya had shoplifted the items out of need and it was her first offence. He said: "The client repents and begs to be given a second chance."

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheryn Yong Shi Yee asked the judge to make an example out of her, according to local reports. Magistrate Nurul Izzah Shaharuddin took the defence's pleas into consideration, however, and ordered Yahya to spend one day in prison and also pay a £70 fine. The court also ruled that she must serve a three-day prison sentence if she fails to pay the fine.

In the days since the offence, Yahya has posted a number of sunny snaps on Instagram, but she has not revealed her location. One caption, alongside images of her posting in a bikini on a beach, read: “Soaking up the sun and riding the waves like a true mermaid. #IslandLife #BeachBabe.”

Yahya has a website, on which she boasts that she “loves to travel around the world to see the beauty in each country”. She also states that she has been to 68 countries so far and wants to see even more.