Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Eslite Spectrum Corp today publicly apologized to a mother and her daughters who were falsely accused of shoplifting at Eslite 480 in Taichung.
The mother, surnamed Wei (魏), and her two daughters on Saturday were reported to police by the store’s security for allegedly stealing goods and were escorted to a police station.
Wei wrote a 2,000-word letter to Lu complaining of unfair treatment.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
This morning, Lu apologized to Wei for the family’s “unjust treatment.”
Lu said that Eslite should improve its security practices, as not only did the store falsely accuse loyal customers of a crime, but the incident also wasted police resources.
“Fortunately, the truth has come to light and everyone knows you have been wronged. I hope all parties will review and improve so that this never happens again,” Lu said, speaking directly to the daughters through reporters.
Tseng Hsi-sung (曾喜松), head of public affairs at Eslite, apologized to the family on behalf of the company for causing discomfort and stress.
Tseng said he had already communicated with Wei, and that the interaction was civil.
He also said he would pay the family a visit in the coming days.
The security guards overreacted and notified police without first notifying the mall manager, which goes against standard operating procedure, Tseng said, vowing to review and communicate with the security company.
The security personnel also feel guilty for the incident and would like to extend their apologies to the family for the disturbance, he added.
Tseng said he was grateful to the police for their assistance and would work with the security company to improve training and operating procedures.
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