An old man in Jinan, Shandong Province, did not know whether to laugh or cry when he found 42 rubber bands weighing more than 200g on four crabs his son bought from a local supermarket on Sunday, Qilu Evening News reported.

The Portunus crabs sold at 176 yuan per kg. When Ma's son weighed the crabs in the shop, assistants told him not to remove the bands tied around the crab legs. He spent 196 yuan on the four crabs and gave them as a gift to his parents.

But Ma was astonished after removing all the bands from the crabs and finding they accounted for one-fifth (or 40 yuan) of the 1-kg gift.

"The sellers were so dishonest as to resort to this," said Ma.

He filed complaints to relevant department, which is handling the case.

(China Daily January 8, 2009)