Man arrested for refusing to use shopping basket

11 December 2003

AMSTERDAM — A 32-year-old man has been fined and banned from returning to a supermarket in the city of Assen in the Netherlands after refusing to use a shopping basket there.

The man entered the supermarket shortly before closing time on Monday night, picked up some braising steak and walked to the cashier.

But the man was approached by a security guard and store manager who pointed out that the obligatory use of a shopping basket was store policy.

The customer refused and was taken to the police station, where he was fined EUR 130 and ordered not to return to the store for 12 months.

Police said the man was asked several times to use a shopping basket, but refused requests, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported on Thursday.

The Assen man was forced to spend 30 minutes in a police cell, but police said they contacted prosecution authorities to discuss appropriate sentencing, as per regulations. This required his temporary detention.

A spokeswoman for retail company Laurus, which owns the supermarket in question, has since said that store policies are individually maintained and enforced.

She said the shop has been experiencing ongoing criminality and aggression and was robbed in September. The regulations are therefore strictly imposed to combat store thefts. The spokeswoman also said it was annoying, but necessary.

Subject: Dutch news