Coffee Shop Dispute Over Free Electricity Leads to Police Involvement

A Taiwan coffee shop recently faced a disruptive regular who repeatedly used the shop's electricity to charge a phone and watch dramas without buying anything. Staff had asked the customer to leave several times, but the person refused. After the customer played loud audio without earphones, disturbing others, the shop called the police. Officers eventually handcuffed and removed the customer on charges of flagrant theft.

The next day, the same customer returned to the coffee shop, demanding to see surveillance footage and presenting a medical report to accuse the shop and police. The shop has handed the matter to judicial authorities. This incident has sparked discussions about customer boundaries in coffee shops, where purchase requirements and electricity use are common points of conflict.

Recently, a dispute occurred at a coffee shop in Taiwan, triggered by a customer who had been freeloading on electricity for a long time and refusing to make a purchase. This customer was a regular who had visited the shop multiple times to charge their phone and watch dramas with the sound on loudspeaker, yet had never spent a cent. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to persuade them, the staff chose to call the police. When officers arrived and tried to escort the person out, they also met with refusal, and ultimately the customer was handcuffed and taken away on charges of "flagrant theft." Unexpectedly, the customer returned to the same coffee shop the next day, demanding access to the surveillance footage from the incident and presenting a medical report to accuse the shop and the police. The shop said the matter has been handed over to judicial authorities. This incident has sparked discussions about the boundaries of business order and customer behavior in coffee shops.

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Recently, CTi News reported that at a local coffee shop in Taiwan, a customer was charging their phone and watching dramas in the store, refusing to pay any fees for it. After attempts to persuade them failed, the shop chose to call the police.

According to the shop, this customer was something of a regular, having visited at least four or five times, each time occupying a seat to charge their phone while watching dramas, yet never making a purchase. The staff explained that the shop requires customers to make a purchase upon entering, but there is no minimum spend, so customers can buy a coffee and stay for a long time. However, this regular had visited multiple times without ever buying anything, and though they had tried to persuade the person several times, the customer continued to do as they pleased and refused to cooperate.

On the day of the incident, the customer came to the shop again to charge their phone and, while watching dramas, did not use earphones but played the sound on loudspeaker, causing serious disturbance to other customers. During this time, staff approached to signal the customer to lower the volume and informed them that they could not continue using the shop's power outlet to charge their phone. But the customer acted as if they hadn't heard, ignoring the staff's persuasion entirely and doing whatever they wanted.

At their wits' end, the shop had no choice but to call the police, hoping officers could help escort this customer—who refused to make a purchase yet kept freeloading on electricity—out of the store, so as not to affect the coffee shop's normal operations.

Unexpectedly, when the police arrived and tried to persuade the person to leave, they also met with refusal. The customer did not believe their behavior was affecting those around them, and was unwilling to cooperate by lowering the loudspeaker volume, nor willing to leave on their own, remaining seated and using their phone.

Seeing that the person would not listen to reason, the police ultimately had no choice but to take out handcuffs, cuff the person's hands, and arrest them on charges of "flagrant theft," taking them back to the local police station.

The police station chief stated that the individual had not made a purchase at the store and had used the shop's electricity for charging without the owner's consent, which prompted the operator to call the police. After the officers who arrived failed to persuade the customer to leave, they had no choice but to take coercive measures to remove the person.

Normally, the matter might have ended there. However, to the coffee shop owner's surprise, the day after being taken away by police, this customer returned to the same coffee shop, demanding access to the in-store surveillance footage from the day of the incident.

The customer insisted they had done nothing wrong, and that it was the staff who had forced customers to make purchases. After being refused, the staff then called the police. The customer claimed that the officers who arrived used handcuffs to forcibly take them away without a warrant, accusing the shop and police of a series of actions that caused injuries to their hands and feet.

To prove their claims, the customer presented their medical report and showed the shop the wrist injuries caused by the handcuffs.

In response, the shop owner, on one hand, believed that calling the police was not inappropriate, and on the other hand, was exasperated by the customer's "harassment." So when the other party came to request the surveillance footage, the owner did not refuse, and stated that they had decided to let judicial authorities handle the matter.

Image source: Internet

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