Police Gave Daily Necessities to Unmanned Store Theft Suspect... 50s Woman Caught Stealing Cup Noodles Due to Financial Hardship

Unmanned store theft image.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] A woman in her 50s who stole daily necessities such as cup noodles and bottled water from an unmanned store due to mental illness making economic activities difficult was caught by the police.

According to Busanjin Police Station on the 21st, Ms. A was arrested for stealing a total of 80,000 won worth of cup noodles and bottled water 16 times over about 10 days in early December at an unmanned store in Beomcheon-dong, Busanjin-gu.

The store owner reported to the police after confirming through CCTV that Ms. A hesitated for a moment while holding the items and passed by the counter without paying.

Ms. A did not take all the items at once but took small amounts several times at the same store, and due to the nature of the unmanned store, the owner was not present, making it easy to commit the crime.

The police identified Ms. A’s personal information through CCTV and arrested her at the goshiwon where she lived.

According to the investigation, Ms. A and her husband suffer from mental illnesses and receive subsidies as basic livelihood security recipients, but they are in a state where economic activities are difficult.

The goshiwon where Ms. A lives is also an old small room of about 1.5 pyeong, converted from a lodging house, and it did not even have heating.

During the investigation, Ms. A repeatedly said, “I knew I shouldn’t take it, but I was so hungry that I took it without paying. I’m sorry.”

After the investigation, the police delivered various daily necessities to the couple.

A police official said, “Since actual damage occurred, legal procedures must be followed,” but added, “Seeing where they live was very heartbreaking, so we contacted administrative agencies and decided to help so that they would not be driven to crime.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of livelihood-related crimes due to financial hardship has been increasing every year.

According to the Busan Police Agency, the proportion of small theft cases under 100,000 won, presumed to be livelihood-related crimes, among all theft cases in Busan was 26.7% in 2019, 32.2% in 2020, and steadily increased to 36.9% last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.