“I’ll help you” Another sneak peak 47 days after release… Subway mobile phone thief arrested – Seoul Newspaper

A man in his 60s who stole a drunk passenger’s cell phone at a subway station was caught and handed over to the prosecution. This man was arrested 12 times for the same crime, but committed another crime 47 days after being released from prison.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s subway police unit announced on the 3rd that on the 22nd of last month, Mr. A, a man in his early 60s, was arrested and sent to the prosecution on charges of theft under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes. Mr. A is accused of running away after taking the cell phone from the hand of a drunk victim who was asleep on the platform at Hongik University Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 on the morning of October 9.

The police, who received the victim’s report on the 13th of the same month, identified Mr. A as a suspect through analysis of closed-circuit (CCTV) footage. Mr. A avoided police pursuit by using a disposable transportation card, but after a 20-day undercover investigation, Mr. A was arrested at a velodrome in Dongdaemun-gu on the afternoon of the 18th of last month.

According to the police investigation, Mr. A had been arrested a total of 12 times and arrested 8 times for the same crime. It is reported that this crime was committed 47 days after being released from prison last August. Mr. A mainly used the method of stealing cell phones from drunk passengers on subway platforms and trains late at night or early in the morning.

Through additional investigation, the police additionally confirmed that the woman was guilty of stealing a cell phone from the platform at Euljiro 4-ga Station on October 15th and from the platform at Hongik University Station on the 28th of the same month. In a police investigation, Mr. A stated to the effect that “I committed a crime to make a living because I had no money shortly after being released from prison.”

This year, the Seoul Subway Police Department arrested a total of 46 people, including Mr. A, 26 helpers (a crime that approaches drunk customers and pretends to help them and steal their belongings), 5 pickpockets, and 15 people who acquired stolen property, and arrested 25 of them. did.

Reporter Jaemin Ryu