China’s holiday ‘Sausage Prince’ strikes again – and is heading back behind bars

The long arm of the law has caught up with a man in eastern China – again – over his three-decade Lunar New Year tradition – stealing preserved meats to sell over the festive season.

Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation reported on the weekend that a thief was caught on surveillance camera this month making off with preserved sausages and roast ham from a restaurant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

The restaurant reported the theft and police recognised the man, identified only as Wang, as a thief who had spent about a decade behind bars for similar offences.

Wang’s annual tradition of pilfering the meats from restaurants, shops and homes over the last 34 years had earned him the nickname the “Sausage Prince”, the report said.