KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 ― Taiwan police arrested 11 women after they cleared out a cabbage farm thinking the farm had been abandoned.

The farm owner had lodged a police report in Yunlin County after seeing his produce had gone missing when he turned up for work on Wednesday, Taiwan News reported.

The farmer, identified by his surname Hsu, had arrived at his 7,756-square-metre field to see his 20,000 cabbages missing and some of the suspects still harvesting.

Hsu said he had wanted to harvest the vegetables before the women beat him to it as his produce had turned bad due to the weather.

When questioned by police, the women, aged between 50 and 60 years, claimed they helped themselves to the vegetable as they thought the farm had been abandoned.

Following the incident, Hsu had put up a sign that said the farm was not open for self-harvest.

The women will be charged with theft soon.