A 20-year-old criminal who kidnapped a cyclist with three others at the beginning of this year to withdraw enormous amounts of money from his account was sentenced this week to twelve months in prison. Eight months of this are conditional, which in reality amounts to a four-month prison sentence.
The victim was lured to a location in Amsterdam on January 2. There he was pulled off his bicycle and pushed into a car, after which the four kidnappers drove him around for hours. They also punched him in the face several times. The 20-year-old kidnapper, who was sitting next to the victim in the backseat, further threatened to pull a gun.
Payment terminals
The cyclist had to provide his telephone code and a debit card PIN, after which the kidnappers transferred money from the savings account to the checking account. They also withdrew money from his account several times at payment terminals and bought items at shops. The victim was eventually released and called in Haarlem to ask for help. The suspects then bought thousands of euros worth of clothing via the Bijenkorf website.
According to the court, the man in his twenties and his three accomplices ‘acted systematically’. “They not only had no respect for the victim’s property, but also used violence to achieve their goal at all costs. These are very serious facts with a major impact on the victim,” the court writes in the verdict.
According to the psychologist, the 20-year-old man is fully responsible for the facts, although there is a ‘transgressive behavioral disorder’ and a ‘low capacity for empathy’. He was released in September this year pending a hearing. At first it seemed that he complied with the conditions ‘reasonably’, but later the data from the ankle bracelet showed that he had violated the location ban twice.
The twenty-something was previously convicted of various thefts. The court finds that ‘the seriousness of the facts justifies a substantial unconditional prison sentence’. At the same time, the court wants to impose part of the sentence conditionally, partly because of the man’s age. The conditional part of the sentence serves as a ‘stick behind the door’ and he is given a ‘last chance’ not to violate the conditions again.
2023-11-12 21:52:00
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