No, the supermarket has no right to impose fines.
Slogans such as "Ten yuan fine for stealing" are generally used by supermarkets and other units as deterrent slogans. In fact, supermarkets and other units have no right to impose fines for violations of public security management.
Anyone who disrupts public order, impedes public security, infringes upon personal rights and property rights, impedes social management, and is socially harmful shall be punished in accordance with the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"*** * If it constitutes a crime according to the provisions of * and the state, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law; if it is not enough for criminal punishment, the public security organs shall impose public security management penalties in accordance with this law.
In other words, the supermarket has the right to transfer people to the public security organs, and the police at the police station will punish them in accordance with regulations. But the supermarket itself is not qualified to handle and impose fines. But under normal circumstances, out of selfishness, many people will accept the request for a fine of ten for stealing in the supermarket or other compensation.
However, just because the supermarket is wrong does not mean that the person who stole the goods is right. Both parties should resolve their disputes through mediation by an authoritative agency.
Extended information:
Evaluation of the behavior of "stealing and punishing ten"
1. Wu Shengjian, associate professor and legal expert at East China University of Political Science and Law, believes:
The issue that needs to be discussed in this case is whether the supermarket can set its own standards for theft, whether the supermarket can set its own rules for theft and punish the perpetrators when they are discovered.
Supermarkets have self-defined "working procedures for factory promotion personnel". If they do not take their promotional products to their own workbench during work, it will be regarded as theft, which obviously has no legal basis. Because theft is a socially harmful act, its identification standard can only be determined by the legislative authority or relevant law enforcement agencies. As an enterprise, supermarkets have absolutely no right to set their own punishment standards for theft.
When its standards conflict with national laws, such behavior will inevitably cause chaos to the social legal order. If the supermarket determines that the perpetrator has committed theft, the perpetrator is still a criminal suspect in law. Whether it can be determined as "theft" shall be reviewed and determined by the statutory authorities in accordance with legal procedures.
If supermarkets are allowed to punish theft suspects without due process, citizens' legitimate rights and interests may be infringed, and citizens' rights to due process, defense, and appeal given by the law will be deprived.
In addition, if the evidence of theft is conclusive, the supermarket will handle the punishment according to its own rules instead of legal sanctions. This is likely to allow the thief who should be punished by law to escape, objectively causing the criminals to be indulged and making them more vulnerable. continue to harm society.
2. Hong Daode, a professor at the School of Law of China University of Political Science and Law, made it clear:
The merchant's "steal one and punish ten" rule has no legal effect.
According to the Administrative Penalty Law, only state agencies can impose penalties, and shopping malls have no right to impose penalties. Even if the other party is at fault, merchants must not treat "thieves" illegally and punish them without authorization. Of course, the law also protects the rights and interests of shopping malls.
Professor Hong pointed out that the correct approach in shopping malls is: first, send the thief to the public security agency for handling; second, as for the loss, you can file a civil lawsuit with the court and ask the thief to compensate. Although it is "troublesome" to do so, Hong Daodao emphasized that legal protection of one's own rights and interests can only be completed through legal procedures, and rights protection cannot be at the expense of breaking the law or damaging the legitimate rights and interests of others.
Reference materials:
People's Daily Online - Expert: "Steal one and punish ten" infringement!
Baidu Encyclopedia - Public Security Administration Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China