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On the eve of a judge’s ruling on whether store owner David Chen broke the law by chasing down a shoplifter and tying him up while waiting for police, the grocer and his mother thwarted yet another would-be thief at their downtown Toronto food mart.

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On Thursday, just before 6 p.m., a woman entered Mr. Chen’s Lucky Moose Food Market on Dundas Street East, grabbed two bottles of Shiseido shampoo and conditioner — valued at about $35 — and made for the exit.

But before she could get away, Mr. Chen’s 55-year-old mother, whom Mr. Chen declined to name, stopped the thief, hugging her so she couldn’t get away, while Mr. Chen called police.

It turns out the woman had been caught on security camera the night before stealing three bottles of hair conditioner, a bottle of cooking oil and a carton of eggs.

Fearing she might return, Mr. Chen printed the woman’s picture from the security footage and gave it to his cashiers.