Rock band musician publicly apologises for shoplifting in New Zealand after CCTV footage made public

Lachlan Galbraith, the keyboardist of the rock band Ocean Alley, has publicly apologised for shoplifting after a shop in New Zealand shared CCTV footage of him doing so.

The shop, Hunting and Fishing Queenstown, posted the video on Facebook and Instagram showing Galbraith shoplifting an A$17.95 ($12.10) drink bottle lid in his bag on New Year's Eve.

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The shop wrote in its post, "Good to see the fellas in town for their performance at [the Rhythm and Alps music festival] tonight," referring to their upcoming gig in Queenstown.

"Unfortunately, it looks like there was just a little too much 'Confidence' in-store today," the shop added, mentioning one of the rock band's songs.

Ocean Alley, anAustralian rock band,is currently touring New Zealand.

They were set toperform in Wellington on Wednesday (Jan 3) and in Whangamatā on Friday (Jan 5). Later this year, they will tour Australia before heading to North America and the United Kingdom.

"We realise hydration is important, so no worries but please feel free to return the Yeti Chug Cap before you leave town tomorrow. All the best for 2024 and the tour ahead," the post from the shop read.

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Later, Lachlan Galbraith apologised for his actions, calling them "foolish."

He said in a video posted on the band's Instagram account, "Yesterday in an act of complete foolishness, I stole a drink bottle lid from the Queenstown Hunting and Fishing store. It is a moment I am not proud of at all and one that I have deep regret and remorse for. I have reached out to the team directly and we have rectified the situation."

"I am so sorry for disappointing all of our fans, the team at the store and of course, the band. My actions do not reflect on how we carry ourselves as a band," he added.

After Galbraith's apology, Hunting and Fishing pulled the footage from their social media and thanked him. However, people criticised them for taking down the video from the social media platforms. "We are in no way offering special treatment based on who the person is," they responded to the critics.

"They have apologised, owned up and made the appropriate reparations. We in turn deleted the post as we would anyone who made the appropriate effort to rectify the situation. The embarrassment and aftermath of this particular event should be punishment enough." the shop said in another post.

(With inputs from agencies)