A man who habitually deceived merchants pretending to be a neighbor to steal money was caught by the police due to a quick response from citizens.
On the 29th of last month, a man in his 50s visited a musical instrument manufacturer in Nam-gu, Gwangju.
Introducing himself as a resident of a nearby apartment, he ordered musical instruments and left his name and phone number.
Mr. A, who was leaving after finishing the order, received a sudden phone call, came back in a hurry and asked, "My daughter urgently needs money, but I can't withdraw it from the bank in front of my house. Can I borrow only 50,000 won?"
B (66), the owner of the store, knew that the locals were in an urgent situation and readily handed A 50,000 won.
However, as soon as Mr. A received the money, he sprinted out of the shop, and he got on the bus that stopped at the stop.
Only after following out of the store and seeing Mr. A running did Mr. B realize that he had been deceived, and immediately got on his motorcycle and chased Mr. A's bus.
Mr. B followed the bus even in dangerous situations and called 112.
In the end, Mr. A got off only after passing 8 stops, and Mr. B caught him right away and handed him over to the police who arrived at the scene.
As a result of the police investigation, Mr. A committed similar crimes at two optical shops in Nam-gu in July and August, and it was also confirmed that he was punished for fraud.
Mr. B said, "There are merchants who have been dealt with in a similar way and have experience around them, so I thought I should catch them quickly."
The police have booked Mr. A on charges of fraud and are further investigating whether there are any other crimes.
If Mr. A is found guilty of fraud, he may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
(Photo = Yonhap News)