[Ammi]

I can't find anything else on that particular case..but it doesn't appear to be a 'one off' as a few others have come up. One involves a 15 year old girl whose mother had a Tsgirt made stating that she was a thief and was made to wear it everywhere in public..even though the law had already punished her for a single shoplifting incident.
There's also this one..from the 'expert' point of view....
(apologies for the length of it)

A MOTHER who made her child wear a sign saying he is a thief around Townsville could be pushing him towards a life of crime, experts say.

Earlier this morning The Townsville Bulletin reported that the boy, thought to be 10-years-old, had been forced to wear a sign saying “Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief" and Shrek ears as a form of public punishment.

But the University of Queensland's Dr Alina Morawska, who assists with the Triple P Positive Parenting Program, said that by making the boy stand out, he may end up associating with the wrong crowd.

“Sometimes when children are ostracised by their peers that can make them feel bad, and they can fall into another peer group that could make them more likely to engage in that bad behaviour in the future,” she said.

“There’s certainly a benefit to children being helped to learn their responsibilities and make restitution or apologise if it’s appropriate, but doing such a thing in a very public way doesn’t necessarily achieve that outcome.”

She added that if other children associate him as the boy with the sign around his neck, it would be a very hard reputation to shake and could cause isolation.

“I think parents should be teaching the child right from the beginning and encouraging them to ask for things if they need them.

“For punishment, paying the money back or doing additional chores to earn towards the item that was stolen would be appropriate.”

Prominent child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said humiliating the child would not work and could spark "revenge fantasies".

“You don’t humiliate the kid,’’ he told ABC Radio this morning.

“They’ll think about how they are basically going to get revenge for the humiliation.’’

He said this kind of punishment was pointless as there was probably an underlying psychological issue with the child.

“By and large we know these kinds of techniques don’t work,’’ he said.

He said taking away electronic privileges or grounding was more effective.

The boy spent almost an hour on Sunday near a popular waterpark in Townsville while his family ate lunch nearby, The Townsville Bulletin reported.

Witness Diane Mayers was so "horrified" when she saw the boy she contacted Child Safety Services to intervene.

Ms Mayers, who worked with the department in the past, said any long-term effects of public humiliation would have been much worse than physical abuse