A woman has been arrested for allegedly chewing on an anti-theft cable for stealing an iPhone 14 Plus worth $960 (Rs 79,414) from an Apple store in southern China’s Fujian province, the South China Morning Post reported. The woman, identified as Qiu, was caught by police half an hour after leaving the store with the device.
In a CCTV camera video that has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms, Ms Qiu is seen standing in front of a smartphone display stand. Then he leans on the counter and puts his right hand on a phone. After a brief test of the gadget, she nibbled on the security cable several times before placing the phone in her bag and walking out of the store.
The store manager, Wang, said an alarm was activated during the incident. However, the employees who investigated did not find anything unusual.
Police officer Zhang Jinhong was quoted as saying by the SCMP that Ms Qiu acted cautiously and tried to disguise her tracks as she appeared to be scrolling on a phone screen like other customers at a gadget store. However, as she left, store employees found the chewed cord and the missing phone and called the police. Further, the security camera footage was examined and showed what happened. The police then arrested Ms Qiu outside her home.
According to the outlet, Ms. Qiu told police that after losing her phone, she planned to buy a new one at a store, but when she saw the cost, she decided to steal it. She has been detained pending investigation.
