Otago anti-theft pen invention making waves

Checkpoint · Aug 13, 2026 · 4m

If you live anywhere between Oamaru and Dunedin you no longer have an excuse to mistakenly take off with someone else's pen. That's because a group of 15 year-olds have been selling their theft-proof invention at markets all around there - and they want to expand. Their business sells pens with customisable beads at one end to spell out your name, so there's no confusing who it belongs to - which is just as well because they come with lots of other cool features too. East Otago High School student William Newton spoke with Melissa Chan-Green.