Marechaussee officers fired for stealing candy

The Royal Marechaussee has dismissed eight  officers who were charged with guarding the royal stables, for stealing from a generous candy vending machine.

An investigation was launched after the owner of the vending machine reported that Mars chocolate bars, Mentos rolls and licorice disappeared from the vending machine, but its earnings came up short.

The internal affairs department installed a camera that caught the candy thieves red-handed. They were initially sent on administrative leave earlier this year, but the eight men who rummaged the vending machine received notice of discharge at home.

"HE had just started at the Royal stables when seasoned colleagues told him about that particular vending machine that gave out candy for free. Everybody was plundering that thing," the mother of one of them told journalists. "At first he checked of course if it was really that easy and nothing came out. But it turned out that it was still enough to get him fired. That's unbelievable, considering that he had sworn to even give his life for this country."

Marechaussee spokesman Alfred Ellwanger explained that the men were fired because it may seem like an offence one could disregard, but in effect they stole from a building they were expected to guard. "This is a irreparable breach of trust," said Ellwanger