Appears at 1-2 am for 8 months
Cut the iron pillar and knock over the camera.
“Too much is installed to collect taxes.”
Antipathetic citizens cheer as heroes
A mural depicting ‘Fleximan’ as the ‘Black Mamba’ character played by actress Uma Thurman in the movie ‘Kill Bill.’ [사진=연합뉴스]
“The Fleximan is coming”.
A road in Padova, northern Italy, on the 23rd. A note like this was placed next to a speed camera whose pole had been cut off.
The police were appalled by the same crime that had been repeated for eight months, but the citizens cheered. “Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes have ‘angle grinders’”.
The so-called ‘Fleximan’, who has been destroying speed cameras in Italy, is being treated as a hero by citizens. This is because many citizens have thought that there were too many speed cameras installed than necessary.
According to local Italian media such as La Repubblica on the 25th (local time), 20 speed cameras were recently destroyed in the northern part of the country. The affected areas are diverse, including Padua, Veneto, and Lombardy.
The method of crime is the same, so it is highly likely that one person was responsible. The criminal approaches the roadside speed camera between 1 and 2 a.m., cuts the pillar supporting the camera with an angle grinder, and then disappears.
As the same crime was repeated starting in May of last year, the criminal was given the nickname ‘Fleximan’. Citizens took note of the fact that an angle grinder was used as a crime tool, and nicknamed the suspect ‘FLEX’, the name of the German company that developed the angle grinder.
“The number of speed cameras is three times that of other European countries”… Even copycat crimes
Destroyed speed cameras. [사진=연합뉴스]
Police in northern Italy are continuing their investigation, including closely analyzing closed-circuit (CC) TV footage from around the scene of the damage, but have not been able to find any clues to identify the culprit.
Local media Corriere della Sera reported that Fleximan is being praised as a modern-day hero among drivers. Some citizens said on social media, “Since he provided a service to everyone, he should at least be paid the fuel cost necessary for his mission.”
Citizens are supporting Fleximan, saying the local government has installed too many speed cameras. This is due to antipathy that some local governments are collecting fines by installing cameras even in places where they do not need to be installed.
In the state of Padua, a mural depicting Fleximan as the ‘Black Mamba’ played by Uma Thurman in the movie ‘Kill Bill’ appeared. The character in the mural holds a knife in his right hand and a speed camera pole in his left hand.
Not only citizens but also administrative officials supported Fleximan’s crimes.
“Speed cameras are a repressive tool, and Italy has three times more of them than other European countries,” said Antonella Argenti, mayor of Villa del Conte, Padua. “We need to focus more on education and prevention.”
However, as a friendly atmosphere was created for Fleximen, copycat crimes began to occur. Some drivers are throwing stones at speed cameras.
Authorities in Veneto and Lombardy have warned that anyone who publicly supports Fleximan will be prosecuted for condoning a crime.
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2024-01-26 02:21:31
