Handling Coffee and Milk Tea Theft Without Breaking the Law

A Mixue Bingcheng store in Guangzhou posted a handwritten warning saying meal thieves would be tied to a pedestrian bridge for eight hours, have ten buckets of milk tea poured on their heads, and be publicly exposed. The store said the notice was only a scare tactic never carried out. Police later emphasized that illegal detention is unacceptable and the first step should be calling authorities.

The case reflects a real problem for drink businesses: pickup orders left on the counter are easy to take during busy hours, and the loss adds up across many cheap items. For anyone handling coffee or milk tea orders, the practical lesson is that deterrence must stay within the law, and reporting theft to police is the safer route than vigilante punishment.

Recently, a Mixue Bingcheng store in Guangzhou made trending news after a handwritten warning about meal theft was posted, stating that thieves would be tied to a pedestrian bridge for eight hours, have ten buckets of milk tea poured on their heads, and have their videos exposed. The store responded that it was only a scare tactic and was never actually carried out. The incident sparked heated discussion online, with some sympathizing with the helplessness of the business, while others pointed out that taking the law into one's own hands is illegal. Suzhou police then spoke out, emphasizing that illegal detention is unacceptable and that the first step should be to call the police. This controversy reflects the real dilemma of frequent meal theft in the milk tea industry and the high cost of loss prevention, and also prompts reflection on the balance between businesses defending their rights and the boundaries of the law.

According to Miaojian Finance, recently in Guangzhou, Guangdong, a netizen discovered a handwritten theft warning at a Mixue Bingcheng store, which stated that thieves would be "tied to a pedestrian bridge for 8 hours to be publicly shamed," have "ten buckets of milk tea poured on their heads," and their theft videos would be posted online. The matter quickly drew attention and became a trending topic.

Miaojian Finance sought verification from a staff member at the Mixue Bingcheng store, who responded, "Many people steal meals, and we can't catch them all. We had no choice because we were stolen from so much, and some people steal meals in a horrifying way. (The warning) is written more severely to scare them." As for whether the punishments in the notice were ever actually carried out, the person said, "It has never been implemented. If it had been, it would be illegal."

Netizens commented one after another, "Even Mixue gets stolen from," "It's already so cheap and people still steal," "This too gets stolen," "Thieves are really annoying."

Many netizens also shared their own experiences of being stolen from, and many stores have encountered similar situations. A common scenario is that customers place orders through a mini-program, the store prepares the drinks and leaves them on the table for pickup, and during busy hours the staff do not notice when someone simply takes them. When the actual customer who placed the order arrives and finds the drink gone, it has to be remade, and only after checking surveillance later is it discovered that it was stolen. Another situation is that after delivery orders are prepared and placed on the delivery rack, a thief pretends to be a delivery rider and takes the meal, and it is only discovered when the real rider arrives at the store.

In fact, the purpose of this notice posted by the Mixue Bingcheng store was to serve as a deterrent, but the content of the notice also sparked discussion among netizens. Some netizens believed that the actions described in the notice were illegal and accused it of "taking the law into one's own hands," "having no law enforcement authority," and "using illegality to deal with illegality."

After this matter sparked heated discussion, Suzhou police also stepped in to explain the law, stating, "No matter the reason, and no matter what purpose one wants to express, restricting personal freedom through illegal detention is not permitted by law! The unit or individual involved should call the police immediately and use legal weapons to defend their lawful rights and interests!"

In fact, this also reflects the helplessness of milk tea shop staff. The phenomenon of meal theft is repeated despite repeated bans; when things get busy, there is no time to watch over them, and when they want to catch the thieves, they cannot, and when they want to shoo them away, they cannot either. Not only are the fruits of their work lost for nothing, but they also have to endure the urging and complaints of delivery riders and customers. For the store, assigning someone specifically to watch during peak hours increases labor costs, so this was truly a last resort.

Faced with this situation, stores can actually choose to call the police, and if a thief is caught, they should hand the person over to the police. Of course, relevant departments also need to intensify efforts to address repeated behaviors such as stealing drinks and meals, so as to create a secure business environment for merchants.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.