The owner of a small Winnipeg supermarket said Monday he feels he has the right to defend his store from being ripped off by shoplifters.

Hans Bhangu, owner of Pal's Supermarket on Broadway Avenue in Winnipeg's West Broadway area said he even keeps a baseball bat on hand in case he needs to defend himself.

"They're always there, something we know, even a broom can hurt somebody and we keep them all around."

Bhangu said his store, which he has owned for 35 years, is in a high-crime area and often gets stolen from, or worse, he said.

'They shouldn't have a right to steal.'—Hans Bhangu, supermarket owner

"Sometimes you get nuts who attack you, so you have to keep something to defend you," he said. "They're not the only ones who have a right. You have a right too."

Bhangu was responding to a recent incident where a 61-year-old Winnipeg shopkeeper now faces an aggravated assault charge for allegedly assaulting a 29-year-old woman who tried to steal a can of food from a small store on Sherbrook Street.

Police allege Geraldine Beardy was confronted by the owner of Okay Groceries on Sherbrook Street as she was trying to steal the food item, worth $1.49, on Sept. 13.

She was assaulted before she fled to a nearby residence, police said. Beardy died Friday in hospital after she lapsed into a coma.

Police said Tuesday they were notified of the assault on Sept. 15, and Beardy died Sept. 18. Officers in the homicide unit are still investigating how she died.

Bhangu said what allegedly happened to Beardy was unfortunate.

But he said in general, he has little sympathy for shoplifters.

"They shouldn't have a right to steal. We have to find our own money. We have to make a living too."

Force must be 'reasonable': law prof

A University of Manitoba expert in criminal law said assaulting someone because they stole from you crosses the line.

"If somebody's stealing from you, you can use reasonable force to try and get the thing back. But you can't really assault the person in order to try and get it back," law professor David Deutscher said.

Still, it's a fine line between asserting reasonable force and criminal behaviour, Deutscher said.

"A person doesn't have the right to disobey the law. And even to a thief or a supposed thief, you can't beat somebody because you're mad at them or because you're upset at what they did."