A Man in His 50s Who Robbed Street Vendor Posing as Police Sent to Prosecution

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] A man in his 50s who was caught by the police for stealing money from a street vendor while impersonating a police officer has been handed over to the prosecution.

On the 22nd, the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul announced that it had transferred a man in his 50s, Mr. A, to the prosecution the previous day on charges of habitual theft and impersonating a public official.

On the 4th, Mr. A introduced himself as a police officer conducting a crackdown on duty-free cigarettes to the owner of a street stall in Junggok-dong, Gwangjin-gu, then broke into the store and fled with about 500,000 won in cash.

It was confirmed that Mr. A stole a total of about 4.5 million won in cash from street vendors across the country, including Seoul and Uijeongbu, five times between January 27 and March 4 using the same method.

The police urgently arrested Mr. A at Cheonho Station on the 10th after analyzing CCTV footage and conducting inquiries.

Mr. A reportedly stated during the police investigation that he committed the crimes to cover living expenses.