Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Pork scam scam... only in China

I read the story twice and I'm still a bit confused about who is conning who and whether I should eat pork next time I'm in Beijing. The money quote is the last paragraph:
The reason is that cheaters from both sides know bribes work in China. It shows that some of our law enforcement bodies can easily become compromised and there's space for bargaining in the process of law enforcement.

Global Times
Accompanied by 10 security guards, Zhao Zilong, a journalist from the Beijing-based magazine Merchandise and Quality Weekly, and his accomplice Huang Yuhuan, intercepted the victim surnamed Li, who was on his way to a warehouse in Daxing district to fetch 4,000 kilos of pork on June 5.

The two media workers claimed they were from the "315 Anti-counterfeit Office" and that Li's pork was unfit for sale, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Xicheng district branch of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Well aware the pork was indeed unfit, Li accompanied the group to an office building in Xicheng district, where he was told he could be handed over to police if he refused to pay a fine. Li paid 50,000 yuan before regaining his freedom.

Li went to the office the next day, hoping to recover his lost pork, only to discover there was no "315 Anti-counterfeit Office." Li realized he was cheated and immediately reported the con to the Xicheng police.

Here is a summary of the original story that better explains what happened.

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