Police have charged a 41 year-old man over an incident in a Perth supermarket where an Aboriginal boy was allegedly manhandled and locked in a "cage" at the rear of the store for supposedly attempting to steal a bottle of soft drink.
The man, from the Perth suburb of Karrinyup, has been charged with aggravated common assault and deprivation of liberty and has been summonsed to appear in Armadale Magistrates Court at a later date.
The alleged incident, which happened at the Kelmscott IGA on Albany Highway, left a nine year-old boy with a number of injuries, including a gash to the back of his head, after he reportedly had to break a window to escape the "cage" he had been trapped in.
The boy also sustained cuts to his arm and scratches to his hands.
Armadale police said they are continuing with their inquiries.
