A TRUE STORY

I entered one supermarket and purchased a bottle of gin. I paid for it, and as I left the store, the alarm rang. I ignored it. Nobody stopped me.

I took a bus to another area, where I  entered a different supermarket.  Once again, as I  left the store, nobody, not even the store’s security guard, stopped me.

When I got home, I  discovered that the anti-theft device had been left on my bottle. It should have been removed when I paid for the gin.

I tried removing the tag, which was tied to the neck of the bottle with tough metal cable. I realised that without breaking the glass bottle,  I would not be able to reach the gin.

In the end, I  retraced my steps and returned to the shop, which was a 10 minute bus ride away. I explained what had happened, showed the shop assistant the receipt, and demanded a fresh bottle, but with the security tag removed.

This episode made me wonder why so much effort is put into protecting goods when the security officials at the supermarkets take so little heed of their alarms when they are set off.