Claiming compensation for snacks forty times, "small gains adding up" becomes extortion
Compiled from: Red Star News, The Paper, Hangzhou Daily
Over two years, a snack company received continuous complaints and claims: various insects and foreign objects appeared in products, some insects even unheard of. Police traced clues and found these claims pointed to the same college student.
Yuan (20, a student at a school in Shandong) bought snacks online, then placed purchased insects and hair into the snacks before claiming compensation from the merchant. He used this method 43 times, profiting over 7,000 yuan. Yuan is now under criminal detention.
Case review
Xiaozi (pseudonym), a customer service representative at a company in Hubei, received a complaint message one day in October 2021 as usual. "I bought your snacks, and there's an insect inside, with wings." Although the product was opened, trusting the customer, Xiaozi reported it normally, and the after-sales department quickly processed a refund. "I've eaten it and feel unwell. You need to compensate me 200 yuan." Though the matter was unclear, to ensure a good shopping experience, Xiaozi processed an initial payment.
"To ensure customer experience, merchants usually pay a certain amount first, then conduct internal investigations. After receiving compensation, Yuan seemed to taste the sweetness, feeling this was a way to make money. So he repeatedly added foreign objects to purchased food, extorting compensation from the merchant," said investigating officer Xia Qianqiao. Statistics show over two years, Yuan reported 43 "problematic" products to this snack company but only agreed to return three for verification. Checks revealed these foreign objects had obvious signs of deliberate placement.
"I used a needle to cut a slit in the food packaging, then put the insect inside, getting over 7,800 yuan in total," Yuan confessed after careful investigation by officer Xia Qianqiao. Police gradually gathered evidence and arrested him on May 17. During interrogation, Yuan fully admitted to his extortion crimes.
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 274: Crime of extortion.
Whoever extorts public or private property, if the amount is relatively large or if extortion is committed multiple times, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or if there are other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and a fine shall also be imposed; if the amount is especially huge or if there are other especially serious circumstances, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, and a fine shall also be imposed.
[1] The author's perspective
[1] From a legal perspective, extortion refers to the act of using threats or coercion against a victim with the intent of illegal possession, forcibly demanding a relatively large amount of public or private property. The threshold for "relatively large amount" is set at 3,000 yuan, and subsequent amendments to the criminal law added the element of "multiple acts of extortion," meaning that even if the amount extorted does not reach the threshold, committing such acts three or more times may also constitute the crime of extortion.
[2] From an economic perspective, food enterprises should resolutely protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests, improve mechanisms for resolving consumer disputes, and continuously deliver better products and service experiences to consumers. At the same time, they must firmly resist malicious profit-driven complaints that exploit the guise of rights protection to commit extortion, and prevent false reports and malicious claims through various illegal means, jointly fostering a consumption environment based on honesty and trustworthiness.
