Ms. Zhao from Henan partnered with a friend's relative to run a supermarket a few years ago, but the supermarket went bankrupt half a year later due to poor management. When tallying the inventory, Ms. Zhao unexpectedly discovered that former employees had repeatedly stolen from the store, taking away various products by under-scanning, not scanning, or billing at special prices. So far, 11 former employees have been legally sanctioned, with 8 sentenced to jail.
According to Chinese media reports, in 2019, Ms. Zhao operated a 3000 square meter supermarket in the bustling area of Xilin Hot City, Inner Mongolia. In 2021, due to the need to care for her sick husband, she co-managed the supermarket with a friend's relative, but the previously profitable supermarket went bankrupt in just seven months due to poor management.
An audit report provided by Ms. Zhao shows a loss gap of over 2 million RMB in the supermarket's assets, and within half a year, there was a total purchase of over 220,000 RMB worth of eggs, with over 6 tons of eggs missing according to the report.
In August 2021, during the asset liquidation after closing the store, Ms. Zhao found that the number of products on the shelves didn't match the records. After reviewing surveillance footage from the supermarket, she discovered an employee's theft. After Ms. Zhao reported to the police, the employee confessed at the local police station that many employees were involved in stealing from the supermarket.
An investigation revealed that 16 employees, including managers, cashiers, and stockers, were involved in stealing daily necessities, beverages, and grains from the supermarket. They employed methods like under-scanning, not scanning, or billing at special prices. For instance, a bag of beef jerky worth 100 RMB was scanned at 0.5 RMB and settled at a special price before being taken out of the supermarket.
Among the involved employees, 35-year-old cashier Liu Mofeng stole the most frequently and with the highest value. Surveillance footage from August 6, 2021, showed Liu Mofeng opening a box of high-end gift items to taste them.
Later, the court's judgment recognized Liu Mofeng's husband's three instances of theft, with the last theft involving products worth 1,700 RMB, while Liu Mofeng only charged her husband 1 RMB.
Another defendant, supermarket stocker Wang Mouxia, on August 7, 2021, opened the fire elevator door from the innermost part of the supermarket, instructing her boyfriend's mother to push out a cart of goods through the back door, including toilet paper, canned goods, cakes, cookies, milk tea, eggs, and chips, even taking the supermarket's shopping cart, valued at about 2,000 RMB.
Ms. Zhao stated that it has taken four years since reporting the theft case to the police without a resolution, but she persists in recovering her losses. By December 2024, 11 employees whom Ms. Zhao had evidence against have been legally sanctioned, with 8 sentenced to jail, 2 not prosecuted by the prosecutor's office, and investigations against 14 employees terminated by the Xilin Hot City Public Security Bureau.