By Patrick Avenell
More details have emerged today about the mobile phone pornography scandal that hit a Dick Smith store in Cairns last week. Questions as to the veracity of this story, and the reliability of the customer involved, must now be asked, as she has not co-operated with Dick Smith management and may have attempted to profiteer from this incident.
After the Cairns Post reported last Wednesday that a Dick Smith store had sold a Samsung mobile phone containing 49 sexually explicit images, some believed to be of Dick Smith employees, the electrical retailer became the centre of much unwanted publicity.
At the time, Dick Smith’s parent company, Woolworths Holdings, was unable to comment fully as they had not viewed the images. Despite the customer, described only as a female university student, voicing her disgust in a newspaper, a Dick Smith spokesperson today confirmed she still has not made the handset available for management to inspect.
“She still has not brought the phone into a Dick Smith store,” said Dick Smith spokesperson Benedict Brook. “We are yet to see any evidence that any [Dick Smith Electronics] staff were involved.
“We’re happy to give the customer a refund, but we have to have the phone. If we are to get to the bottom of this, we have to see the phone.”
Brook confirmed that whilst management had spoken to the woman, their only sight of the images has been via a laptop computer.
“The images are very blurry, shown on a laptop – not on the phone,” said Brook.
When asked whether this incident could be a hoax, or at least an embellishment to titillate readers, Brooke said, “It’s very difficult to separate facts from the hype”.
Current.com.au also understands that staff at the Dick Smith store in question are becoming increasingly frustrated by the various allegations circulating – especially considering the lack of evidence made available.
“The staff at the store are increasingly concerned about accusations without any proof,” said Brook. “Some of our staff voiced concerns about this to their manager.”
In a bizarre twist to this story, News Limited media has reported that the woman who claims to have purchased the mobile phone plans to sell it on eBay, rather than discuss the situation with Woolworths Holdings. This development places further scrutiny on the believability of her story, especially when one considers she has refused to be identified and she has thus far not co-operated in a sensible fashion with the retail chain she has maligned.
Current.com.au has attempted to contact the customer but has been unsuccessful.