Four law experts were invited by Haidian police on Friday to discuss how to deal with four migrant workers who stole and ate grapes that had been cultivated by a research institution at a cost of 400,000 yuan (US$48,192) over 10 years, reports Beijing Star Daily.

It is difficult to decide how to punish them, as they thought they were eating normal grapes when actually they were consuming invaluable lab products, criminal law expert Chen Xinliang told the newspaper on Thursday.

Another point of contention is whether they should be convicted on charges of "sabotaging production" or theft.

Furthermore, it is difficult to evaluate grapes that are still a lab product and have not yet been launched into the market at a certain price.

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