A Russian pickpocket, known for spending five hours a day getting on and off the Seoul subway to commit theft, has been sentenced to prison.
According to the legal community, on the 24th, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal 17 (Judge Kim Han-chul) sentenced three Russian nationals, A (46), B (46), and female C (39), who were arrested and charged with special theft, to one year in prison and two years of probation.
They meticulously planned their criminal activities before entering the country and arrived in Korea on a tourist visa in November last year. They were put on trial on suspicion of stealing passengers’ wallets on the Seoul subway.
They even divided roles and moved in unison. When one person blocked the target of the crime, another person stood near the victim and took off his coat to distract the attention of the surrounding passengers. The remaining person took out his wallet directly from the victim’s bag.
Using this method, they stole cash and gift certificates worth 2 million won ($1,780) from two female passengers.
They were found to have planned to leave Korea and flee to Russia after completing the crime within 15 days. Still, they were caught by the police, who received a theft report from the victim and launched an undercover and shadow investigation.
They denied the crime, stating that they visited Korea for tourism and shopping. However, the prosecution considered punishment necessary given that they had been on the subway for an average of five hours a day for nine days in Korea.
The court cited the victims’ cooperation, acknowledgment of guilt, and complete confession of the crimes as mitigating factors in determining the sentence.
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