Moneeze Bernardo
- After learning his victim’s zero bank balance, a robber returns the cash he stole and walked away smiling
- Netizens dubbed the Chinese thief as a ‘modern-day Robin Hood,’ after returning money to the penniless victim
- Local police held the robber in custody due to the knife he was armed with and the threats he made to the victim
A classic proverb holds that, “there is honor among thieves.” Meaning, even the dishonest and immoral can possess some form of honor code.
This was true for a robber who recently received praise on social media for his gallantry by giving the money he stole back to his victim, after learning that the woman has no money left on her bank account.
One February night in the Guangdong city of Heyuan, China, a knife-wielding Chinese man walked towards a woman who was withdrawing cash from an ATM machine inside ICBC bank.
The woman, who was identified only as Ms. Li, withdrew 2,500 yuan (S$500), as seen by the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the bank. She was completing the transaction when the thief, in black jacket, sidled closely to her and stole her money. The robber asked for more and demanded to see her balance on the ATM. However, after examining the balance on Ms. Li’s account and realizing that it was zero, the man simply smiled and returned the cash he had taken.
“At the time, I felt that as long as he did not hurt me, I was willing to give the money to him,” recounted Ms. Li to Guangdong television channel TVS1.
The thief was then seen casually walking away from the bank, while looking at his mobile phone.
After the footage was shared online by China Global Television Network (CGTN) just this month, netizens were amused that the man could be so sympathetic to his victim’s plight, dubbing him with the title of “world’s kindest crook.” Others have also nicknamed him the modern day Robin Hood, as a felon who only steals from the rich.
However, local police quickly traced the man’s identity and whereabouts, and arrested him two days after the incident, as the threats he made and the knife he held were very real, even though his robbery was foiled. He remains in custody, according to TVS1.
