A couple in East China's Zhejiang Province steal a box of "ham sausages" for their grandson, which later turns out to be poisonous bait used by local agricultural scientists. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by BTV

A couple in East China's Zhejiang Province recently stole a box of "ham sausages" for their grandson, which later turned out to be poisonous bait used by local agricultural scientists.

In a video clip of footage from local traffic camera, the box caught the attention of the couple when they rode by it on the road. With no one around, they opened the box, took a quick look inside and then carried the box onto their tricycle and quickly drove away.

They were later found by the police after the alarm was raised by the box owners - researchers at the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 

"The couple said they were going to send the 'ham sausages' to their grandson as a gift," said a police officer, reported BTV.

The ham-like substance was not food but poisonous bait that agricultural researchers use for their insect monitoring programs.

The bait was highly dangerous and absolutely inedible for humans, the police officer warned.

After the video went viral on social media, many netizens criticized the couple for ignorantly trying to seek small gains. "They almost killed their grandson," one Weibo user wrote.