A local court in Jiangyin recently sentenced a truck driver to four years in jail for stealing the contents of a container he was transporting, according to China News Service. His accomplice was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months, and both were ordered to return Rmb95,760-worth of stolen goods to the plaintiff.

The driver was on a short-term contract with an international freight forwarder in Shanghai and was sent to Jiangyin, Jiangsu province, on 14 June 2007 to collect a container of Japan-bound fine wool from the plaintiff, a local textile manufacturer. The plaintiff loaded and sealed the container and prepared all the paperwork before the driver signed off the forms. The defendant then drove to a car park in Shanghai and, using a special tool, stole 42 boxes of wool weighing one tonne.

The thieves were able to close the container without any obvious sign of damage before it was taken to the port. The theft was only discovered when the Japanese recipient opened the container.