Choc frog lands child in court

PERTH - A 12-year-old boy will fight charges that he received a chocolate Freddo frog allegedly stolen from a supermarket in regional Western Australia.

A lawyer for the boy, who appeared in Northam Children's Court yesterday, said he would plead not guilty to the two charges of receiving, which carry similar penalties to those of theft.

The boy is alleged to have received the chocolate from a friend who had stolen it from a supermarket and to have received a novelty sign stolen from another store.

Acting Superintendent Peter Halliday, of Northam police, said charges against juveniles as young as 12 were only laid as a last resort.

"It's not about the value, it's about stopping children from offending," Halliday said.

- AAP