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It’s probably true that most kids at one time or another have either thought about or tried shoplifting to see if one could get away with it.

I know I did back in the 1960s when I tried to “lift” some red hot dollars by shoving them into my back pocket and paying for some other penny candy as not to look too suspicious. I got caught and the clerk, who probably saved me from a life of crime, asked me if I was going to pay for the gum drops I had in my back pocket.

I did and my life of crime was nipped in the bud.

However, shoplifting-at least one case in particular in Busan-has an entirely different take on how to punish an offender where a local supermarket and a student are embroiled in a legal battle over the latter being fined an “excessive” amount for stealing cookies.

According to police in Busan an 18-year-old high school student tried her hand at a five-finger discount when she swiped some candy and cookies worth 7,100 won ($6) from a supermarket but was caught in the act. Instead of reporting the incident to police (and sparing the girl and her family the embarrassment no doubt) the supermarket owner asked the student’s parents to pay 710,000 won ($600).

According to the owner, the supermarket has seen a rising number of shoplifters which have hurt the store’s business. As such, the owner posted a notice at the entrance saying that if anyone is caught shoplifting they should pay 100 times the amount of the shoplifted goods-more as a warning than anything else.

However, when forced to pay this amount the parents said the fine was too harsh and pleaded with the owner that the only reason their daughter had shoplifted was because she was hungry. Gee, must be some tough times down there in Busan for 18-year-old girls to shoplift cookies and candy.

Sadly, “negotiations” failed, and the owner reported the incident to the police. Then the parents “filed a complaint with the police against the store owner, claiming that their daughter suffered from constant threats. In the meantime, the police arrested the girl and are looking in to the “threats” made by the storeowner.