Free money SMS gets out of control

Police were called to a Japanese supermarket after rumours about free money, spread by text messages, got out of hand.

According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, a supermarket in Sapporo, northern Japan, decided to offer refunds for imported pork and tongue which it had labelled as more expensive domestic meat.

As few customers kept their receipts, it all depended on an honour system. But customers then sent text messages to friends explaining that all they had to do was show up at the supermarket and ask for a refund.

The SMS message, which read 'Go to this Seiyu store and pick up 30,000 yen', spread like wildfire. The sum is equivalent to about £150.

Over three days, the supermarket handed over almost 48 million yen (£250,000), three times the value of the meat that qualified for a refund. One 'customer' walked away with about £1,700.

But when the store started to question the customers, things got heated and the police were called.

Two 19 year-old men were arrested for assaulting a security guard when they could not get into the supermarket's office.

"I've never bought meat here, but I came after I heard I could get some money," one of the men explained.