Gulp! Man fined $525 for drink refill at hospital

A construction worker who helped himself to a refill of his 89-cent drink at a Veterans Affairs hospital was fined $525 and lost his job because he was barred from hospital grounds.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

April 17, 2014 - 1:40 pm

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A man who helped himself to a refill of his 89-cent drink at a Veterans Affairs hospital found it cost a lot more than he expected when he was fined $525.

WCSC-TV reports there are signs in the cafeteria telling people refills are not free. When Christopher Lewis of North Charleston, S.C., refilled his drink without paying Wednesday, a federal police officer gave him a ticket.

Lewis is a construction worker and says he never noticed the signs and has refilled his drink without paying before.

The medical center said in a statement that Lewis was ticketed for shoplifting, but that the VA doesn’t determine the amount of the fine.

Lewis says he wasn’t given a chance to pay for the refill and will contest the fine in federal court.

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