Chiayi teen stops bank robbery

Police precinct chief Li Wei-wen, right, congratulates a 13-year old junior-high student, surnamed Lee, left, for his bravery in foiling a bank robbery yesterday. PHOTO: TSAI MIN-YI, TAIPEI TIMES

A brave 13-year-old boy foiled a bank holdup yesterday by overpowering a lone robber who had tossed a Molotov cocktail into the Talin branch of Chiayi Fourth Credit Cooperative and then threatened tellers with a handgun and demanded money.

The teen, surnamed Lee, is a student at Peihsin Junior-High School in Chiayi. Police were so grateful for his bravery that they have contacted the school to prepare a citation for him.

A police spokesman said, however, that the police do not encourage such "brave" acts for fear that someone may get harmed.

He said the best thing is for any witness to keep cool and remember the details of what is going on and supply the information to the police later.

Lee told reporters that he was passing by the Chiayi Fourth Credit Cooperative on a bicycle at around 1pm when he saw a man lighting a Molotov cocktail while walking into the bank. A fire broke out immediately he said.

Lee said he dashed into the bank without a second thought and grabbed the robber's neck from behind. A number of bank tellers then rushed to help him. They jumped on the robber, overpowered him and then turned him over to the police.

Police said they arrested Liu Kuo-chou (劉國洲), 35, at the bank.

Officials said that before he went to the bank, Liu had tried to divert attention by calling a police station and claiming that a bomb had been planted at Peihsin Junior-High School.

Shortly after the police discovered the bomb-threat to be a hoax, they received reports about the bank robbery.

The police spokesman said that officers confiscated a handgun and four bullets from Liu, who has been detained for questioning.

Police said Liu had a record for robbery and possession of illegal weapons.