[Anchor]
A teenager who went around stealing cash from multiple unmanned stores has been apprehended by the police. During police questioning, the suspect stated that he committed the crimes to pay off cyber gambling debts.
Here is more from reporter Lee Hyun-jung.
[Reporter]
An unmanned store in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, last month.
A man wearing a helmet forcefully strikes the padlock attached to a kiosk with a hammer, then opens the safe door and scoops up the paper money.
Another unmanned store nearby.
CCTV cameras are in plain sight, but without a care, he smashes the kiosk with a hammer as well.
Responding to reports from affected business owners and witnesses, police were searching the area when they spotted the man fleeing on a motorcycle.
When a police car blocked his path, he even abandoned the motorcycle and tried to run, but was ultimately caught hiding in a nearby building parking lot.
[Jeon Min-geun / Senior Officer, Violent Crimes Team 4, Ilsan Seobu Police Station: We spotted the suspect driving erratically at high speed. We checked the appearance of the suspect waiting at a traffic signal, and his motorcycle helmet, the earphones attached to the helmet, and the shoes he was wearing matched those worn during the crimes.]
Upon catching him, police found that the suspect was a 16-year-old, identified as A, who committed the crimes while riding a stolen motorcycle without a license.
Police explained that the cash stolen from a total of 10 locations over three days amounted to about 870,000 won, while the repair costs for the damaged kiosks totaled approximately 3.8 million won.
Teenager A reportedly stated during police questioning, "I committed the crimes to pay off debts incurred from cyber gambling."
Teenager A has dropped out of school and, being over the age of 14, does not fall under the category of a juvenile delinquent subject to protective measures.
Police plan to investigate the specific details of the crimes and forward teenager A to prosecutors without detention on charges including special theft, attempted special theft, and unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act.
(Video Editing: Jung Yong-hwa, Footage provided by: Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency)
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