"We've had a charity box on the counter for over 20 years, and this has never happened," says West End chippy owner Riccardo Capaldi.
The 60-year-old spoke with the Glasgow Times about a brazen thief who made off with a donation box, which held funds intended for a charity supporting sick children in hospital.
The theft occurred on Halloween night, Friday, October 31 at around 8.26pm; however, the vile thief made no attempt to dress up, and Riccardo fumed: "Someone must know who he is."
The Chip Chik Inn on Fulton Road in Anniesland has been a staple in the area since Riccardo's grandfather started the business in 1946.
Today, they're left "angry" and "devastated" that their attempt to raise vital funds for a good cause has been nicked in the "calculated" incident.
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Riccardo's nephew, Luca, was behind the counter that night, and he said the thief came in and asked about the price of something on the menu displayed behind the counter.
They now realise this was a ruse to distract him while the thief snatched the donation box.
Riccardo explained: "We're a busy shop, so you're not really kind of watching the counter and customers all the time.
"We've had a charity box on the counter for as long as I can remember, and this has never happened.
The chippy was raising money for the Lollipop Fund, Radio Lollipop's team of volunteers provides care, comfort, play and entertainment for sick children in hospital.
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Riccardo continued: "As you can see from the video, he's been very sneakit.
"The way he took it off the counter and then disappeared. He didn't even buy anything.
"It's a terrible thing when you think about it that someone's stealing from charities.
"It's so annoying, it really angers you so much.
"It's very frustrating for us that somebody's been so blatant.
"It's not a loss to us, but it is a loss to charity. And that's the biggest thing that angers me."
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The family-run chip shop has been sharing the video with locals to try and identify the man, and the community have been up in arms about the "sickening" incident.
Riccardo said that he's heard from other shop owners that they've had similar incidents happen and wants to warn others to be vigilant.
He said: "I would hate for this to happen to someone else.
"This is a warning for other people in the same circumstance, people trying to do some good.
"If they're in the same circumstance as they've got charity tins on their counters or in their premises, they could be a target for these criminals at the end of the day.
"There are clearly people out there who would sink as low as to steal from charity."
For the first time, Riccardo is now considering chaining up the replacement donation box to avoid this happening in the future, but said that feeling like they have to do that was "sad."
Riccardo confirmed that he will report the incident to Police Scotland and share the video with them in the hope of catching the thief.
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