An Italian thief thanked police officers for arresting him and putting an end to a beating from Korean tourists whom he had robbed in Rome, police said.
“I must thank you, they were massacring me,” the 48-year-old criminal told police after he was arrested near the Theatre of Marcellus, one of the monuments in Rome’s historic center.
The thief, from the northern region of Liguria, stole a handbag from a Korean family when they were not paying attention. He threatened the family with a knife when he was spotted and then tried to flee.
Two men from the family, in their twenties, decided to take the law into their own hands. They chased him for several hundred meters before they got him down with taekwondo moves. They then disarmed the thief and continued to beat him.
A patrolling police officer intervened, separated the three and arrested the thief immediately.
“Normally tourists will just call us and report the incidents,” the officer said. “In this case, the two got really excited and could have seriously injured the thief.”
The young Koreans left after they got the handbag back. The thief was transferred to a prison in Rome and will face robbery charges.
Armed robbery in Rome experienced a sharp decline last year with 4,246 cases reported in 2008 compared with 5,133 in 2007.
(AFP)
義大利警方表示,一名小偷在羅馬搶劫了一群韓國觀光客,結果遭到追打,他被警方逮捕後還向警察表示感謝。
這名四十八歲的竊賊被捕後對警察說:「我一定要謝謝你們,他們就要把我給宰了。」警方在羅馬歷史中心區古蹟之一的馬塞盧斯劇場附近將他逮捕。
這名小偷來自義大利北部的利古里亞區,他趁著韓國觀光客一家人不注意的時候,偷走他們的手提包。事跡敗露後,他拿出刀子威脅他們,並企圖逃跑。
結果其中兩名二十來歲的男子決定要親手懲治這名歹徒,他們追了數百公尺後用跆拳道把他制服在地,接著把小偷的刀子打掉,繼續毆打他。
一位巡邏警員出面制止,分開三人,並立刻逮捕了這名小偷。
這名員警說:「通常觀光客發生這種事情只會打電話報警。但這起案例中,這兩名被害人相當激動,可能已經把小偷打成重傷了。」
這兩名韓國年輕人拿回手提包後就離開了,而這名竊賊則被轉送到羅馬一間看守所,將被以竊盜罪起訴。
羅馬去年持械行搶的案例大幅減少,和二OO七年的五千一百三十三例相比,二OO八年通報的案例為四千兩百四十六例。
(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
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1. 錢已經用一半了。 ˇ Half of the money is gone. χ Half of the money are gone. 註:Half of ... 作主詞時,動詞與介詞 of 後面的名詞或代名詞相一致,即名詞或代名詞是單數時,動詞該是單數;若為複數,則動詞也該是複數,例如: Half of the story is interesting. Half of the stories are interesting. Half of it is interesting. Half of them are interesting. 2. 許多人走過這條路。 ˇ Many a man has travelled this road. χ Many a man have travelled this road. 註:many a 意義上雖然作 many 解,但後面應跟單數名詞,動詞也用單數形式。 3. 敵人被迫投降。 ˇ The enemy were forced to surrender. χ The enemy was forced to surrender. 註:enemy 作為總稱,前面須有定冠詞,用作句子主詞時,動詞通常用複數形。類似的情形如 talent: Taiwan is known for its semiconductor technology and is actively working to attract and retain global talent. 4. 他倆誰都不該責怪。 ˇ Neither of them is to blame. χ