A man in his 30s who deliberately carried a sickle and committed robbery at a convenience store, thinking that going to prison would spare him from hunger, was caught by the police.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the crime scene. Photo by the National Police Agency YouTube.
On the 13th, the Ulsan Bukbu Police Station sent a man in his 30s, identified as Mr. A, to prosecution without detention on charges including special robbery, according to Yonhap News Agency. Mr. A is accused of showing a sickle to an employee at a convenience store in Maegok-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan, around 3:48 a.m. on the 29th of last month and stealing items worth about 15,000 won, including lunch boxes, cigarettes, and painkillers.
After taking the items, Mr. A reportedly told the employee, "Call the police in 10 minutes," and waited for the police for about five minutes in front of the convenience store.
The footage of Mr. A's crime was also uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the National Police Agency. The video shows Mr. A placing items on the convenience store counter and then pulling out a sickle from inside his pants. The police, who responded to the report, found Mr. A loitering in front of the convenience store.
When the patrol car arrived, Mr. A once again pulled out the sickle from his waist. Upon confirming the weapon, the police aimed a Taser at him and approached. Mr. A immediately dropped the sickle and approached the police backward with his arms behind his back, signaling to be handcuffed. Mr. A complied with the arrest peacefully, and no casualties occurred.
Police investigation revealed that Mr. A had been homeless for several months and committed the crime believing that going to prison would spare him from hunger. He had also stolen food several times about a month before the crime, and the sickle he carried was confirmed to have been picked up from a nearby field.
The police applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A, and although the prosecution requested it from the court, it was dismissed, so Mr. A is undergoing prosecution investigation without detention.
Cases of committing crimes to enter prison due to financial hardship are not uncommon. In August, a man in his 50s, Mr. A, who was caught for setting fire to his own house in Nonsan, stated that he committed the crime to go to prison due to financial difficulties. In February 2023, a man in his 60s was also caught in Namwon for setting fire to his own house with a torch, asking to be sent to prison due to financial hardship.
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