A SECURITY guard who is on trial for the manslaughter of a shoplifter allegedly ‘b**** slapped’ the man in the face before his death, a court has heard.

Jason Page, 52, died after an incident outside the BP petrol station on Chalfont Way in Earley on March 31, 2021 after stealing meat from the M&S store round the corner.

Sabeur Trabelsi, 44, of King’s Road, Reading is currently on trial at Reading Crown Court after allegedly hitting Mr Page before he fell to ground and suffered from fatal head injuries.

READ MORE: Shoplifter died after being 'punched' for stealing meat from M&S, a court heard

M&S duty manager Elliott Cripps, 27, of Ashbourne Crescent, Taunton, is also on trial charged with perverting the course of justice, along with Trabelsi, for allegedly lying about how Mr Page came to fall to the ground – namely alleging he had fallen as he tried to run away.

The jury heard from the first witness in the trial, which started yesterday (Monday, April 17) that she had been told that Mr Page had been ‘b**** slapped’ by Trabelsi after he had followed Mr Page from the store to retrieve the stolen meat.

Taking to the stand following the prosecution's opening statement, M&S worker Olivia Miller told the store she was there on the day of the incident.

She said every staff member was aware of shoplifting and ‘it was mostly steak and alcohol’ targeted. On the day, she recognised Mr Page and another man who she described as ‘repeat offenders’.

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After she witnessed the men leaving the store with meat and Moretti beer, she pointed after them leading to Trabelsi and Cripps following soon after.

Once the men had returned to the store, Ms Miller asked what had happened.

She said: “I had been pretty persistent about wanting to know what had happened and [Cripps] said they were able to get the [items] back and then there was a fight.

“Sab [Trabelsi] had b**** slapped the shoplifter, there had been a tussle and Sab had punched him and then the guy had fell on the floor.

“He said he had knocked the guy out and there was blood on the floor.”

Another witness took to the stand today (Tuesday, April 18) to say he had also seen ‘a scuffle’. 

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He said: “I then saw one man strike the skinny chap with his lefthand. I couldn’t say if it was a punch or an open slap.”

A third witness took to the stand and said he saw a man fall to the floor but didn’t see anything proceeding it.

The trial continues.