Business is tough... Suffering from 'eating and running' on noodle prices and even having a cellphone stolen

Story Revealed on Online Community
Crime Committed After Confirming Owner's Absence

A video has been released showing a man who took advantage of the owner briefly leaving his small noodle shop in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, not only running off without paying for the noodles but also stealing a mobile phone.

On the 6th, a post titled "A man ran off without paying at a noodle shop in Uijeongbu and even stole a phone" was uploaded on the online community Bobae Dream's bulletin board. The author, Mr. A, revealed that he is the son of the owner of the noodle shop. He stated, "My father runs a small noodle shop alone in Uijeongbu," and added, "While my father briefly stepped away, a customer was spying on the kitchen, confirmed that my father was not there, then put my father's mobile phone into his pants and stole it." Mr. A shared CCTV footage from inside the shop capturing the incident.

At a noodle restaurant in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, a man is seen checking the kitchen (left in the photo) and stealing a charging mobile phone on the table. [Image source: Captured from the online community 'BobaeDream']

In the CCTV footage released by Mr. A, a man wearing a dark navy baseball cap, a matching navy T-shirt, and black pants is seen pouring water from a water dispenser into a cup and drinking it. He then peeks inside the kitchen next door. After confirming that no one was inside the kitchen, he picks up a charging mobile phone from the table next to the kitchen door, hides it inside his shirt, and hurriedly opens the shop door and runs away. An empty noodle bowl, presumably eaten by the man, is also visible on a table inside the shop. Mr. A said, "Business has been tough lately, and my father is struggling," and added, "I hope this kind of person gets punished."

Netizens who came across the story expressed outrage. Through comments, they said things like, "What could he possibly do with the stolen phone?", "I hope the dine-and-dash thief is severely punished for theft," "To lose one's conscience over just one phone," "There should be no leniency," "Didn’t he know there was CCTV?", "It's only a matter of time before he is caught with his face recorded and fingerprints left," "You have to be smart even when doing bad things," and "It hurts that this happened in our country," collectively condemning the thief.

Eating food without paying, known as dine-and-dash, is punishable under Article 3 of the Minor Offenses Act with a fine, detention, or penalty not exceeding 100,000 won, and can be punished even without intent. Furthermore, if the amount involved is large, or if the crime is habitual or planned intentionally, it can be prosecuted as fraud, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine up to 20 million won. In the case of the 'dine-and-dash man' in this story, the crime includes both dine-and-dash and mobile phone theft, punishable under Article 329 of the Criminal Act. Article 329 stipulates that anyone who steals another person's property shall be punished by imprisonment for up to six years or a fine not exceeding 10 million won.