When nine security guards at a discount drugstore in Shanghai city spent a night interrogating a trio of shop assistants about alleged theft, they thought they were doing their part to fight crime.

Now the nine guards face significantly stiffer penalties than the assistants, who have confessed to stealing.

Yang Jiong, a spokeswoman for the Yangpu District Public Security Bureau, said the case occurred at a drugstore in the district on October 31. She refused to reveal the store's name.

"Since it opened, the pharmacy suffered from constant stealing. So it set up a tight security system," said Yang. The store also told employees that they would be forced to pay back 10 times the price of any goods they were caught stealing.

On October 31, security guards found that three shop assistants had stolen and hidden drugs worth 3,000 yuan so they could take them from the store after it closed.

When the trio confessed to stealing the drugs, the guards forced them to sign on a written confession and ordered them to hand in 30,000 yuan as punishment, police said.

But the unlawful detention lasted 10 hours, not ending until family members of the "thieves" arrived.

When an argument broke out, store managers called the police.

While the thieves are under arrest and face a maximum penalty of 15 days behind bars, the guards have been charged with illegally limiting others' personal freedom, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

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