Paid for item mistakenly broken in store

So I visited the Whitehouse & Continental Linen at Athlone Circle in KZN Pietermarizburg on the 16th of June 2022 with mother around 14:45 or so. So while looking around in the store I took a bowl & looked at it, then put it back on the pile it was it was on soon as I put it back the bowl & a few others fell on the floor & 2 other broke. A lady came & cleaned it up. Than we continued shopping with my mother she took a few items than we proceeded to go pay at the till, as my mother was pay one lady whom I assume is the manager came to say we had to pay for the 2 bowls that fell by mistake & broke, this is apparently their company policy. So no in the store bothered to tell us while we were on the floor as soon as the bowls broke that we had to pay for them but only when we're at the till do they care to inform us about this. So if we hadn't bought anything from there were we only going to be informed on our way out about the store policy? which they failed to show us when asked about the details. I've worked in retail for over 12 years now, I've never had to make a customer pay for something that was broken or damaged by mistake while in store. I've seen children break items in store numerous times but not even once were the parents made to pay. I would've liked to attach an image of how unstable the bowls were positioned to begin with, but unfortunately there's option for that here. I would like for the store to respond as to exactly how do they treat their customers??? Is it normal for them to make their customers pay for things that break by mistake in store???