Man Purchases Over 37,000 Beer Can Tabs, Forges "Try Again" Labels to Exchange Beer Through "Small Quantities, Multiple Times"

Recently, the Yangyi Police Station in Wenzhou, Zhejiang received a report from a beer manufacturer stating that the pull tabs used for prize redemption were abnormal. Police arrested suspect Chen, who had purchased over 37,000 blank caps to forge “Come Again” pull tabs. He operated across districts for more than half a year, ultimately facing the consequences himself.

Chen, in his 50s, usually works at construction sites. He admitted that due to financial difficulties, he wanted to earn extra money to support his family, which led him to develop malicious plans. In mid-2025, while drinking beer, Chen noticed that the prize information on pull tabs was relatively easy to replicate, inspiring him to secretly produce fake pull tabs to exchange for beer.

Chen was proactive and took immediate action. He purchased over 37,500 blank bottle caps through online shopping platforms in batches. He also hired someone to print fake “Come Again” prize information on the blank caps. He then divided the pull tabs into sets to serve as proof of redemption. To avoid suspicion from distributors, Chen deliberately went to supermarkets in multiple streets of Wenzhou to exchange the pull tabs.

He adopted a “small amount, multiple times” approach, exchanging only 2 to 4 boxes of beer at each supermarket each time, then changing locations to reduce the risk of being caught. Using this method, Chen continued his illegal prize redemption for over half a year starting from mid-2025 without being caught on the spot.

In February this year, the involved beer company discovered that some prize-winning pull tabs had blurry printing or missing characters. Additionally, the number of redeemed pull tabs was significantly higher than the expected winning probability, prompting them to report the case.

“Could someone be manufacturing fake winning pull tabs?” With this suspicion, the Yangyi Police quickly launched an investigation. Through interviews and investigations, they quickly identified the suspect as Chen, who frequently appeared at beverage retail stores, always carrying a large bag of winning pull tabs. Police swiftly arrested him and confiscated more than 2,000 fake winning pull tabs at the scene.

“We advised Chen that since he has such initiative, he should reform himself and not go down the wrong path again after returning to society,” said the police.

Chen admitted that during the crime, he felt it was not very profitable. Not only did he not earn the expected large sum, but he also spent a lot of time and effort. However, considering the money already spent on materials and printing the pull tabs, he thought he should recover his costs first, so he continued his illegal activities until he was caught by the police.

Currently, Chen has been taken into criminal detention by the public security authorities on suspicion of fraud. The case is under further investigation.

Source: Wenzhou Daily

Published by: News Night Voyage