Tablet PC stolen, wires cut... '2-person grandmother' theft gang targeting moving goods

Tablet PC Theft Caught on CCTV
Special Theft Charges Could Lead to 1 to 10 Years Imprisonment

The actions of a duo of elderly women caught rummaging through someone else's moving belongings briefly left in front of a building and stealing items such as a tablet PC have been captured. They also cut the wires of electronic devices inside the moving items.

On the 3rd, an online community 'Bobaedream' posted a story about having their moving belongings stolen by elderly women during a move. According to the post, Mr. A was preparing to move from Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul to a nearby location through a moving company. However, while Mr. A briefly stepped away, the elderly women were seen rummaging through the belongings stacked next to the first-floor entrance.

Mr. A said, "I got a call from the moving staff saying 'an elderly woman is touching our belongings,'" and "I heard a man on the other end of the phone shouting at the elderly women, 'You can't take it like that,'" recounting the situation at the time.

Later, the staff prevented the elderly women from taking Mr. A's sleeping bag, tripod, clothes, and the situation seemed to be resolved for the time being. However, when Mr. A entered the house and was organizing the moving items, he was shocked. The wires attached to the hairdryer, curling iron, and power outlets were all cut. Afterwards, Mr. A requested the building manager to secure the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

[Image source=Online community 'BobaeDream']

The footage showed one elderly woman rummaging through the mailbox and taking something out. Then another elderly woman pushing a stroller appeared, and they began to thoroughly unpack Mr. A's belongings. In particular, they put Mr. A's tablet PC into a bag.

The first elderly woman left carrying daily necessities such as tissue paper and paper cups, and the second elderly woman who appeared later used scissors she brought to cut the wires of small appliances and power strips.

During this process, a neighboring resident discovered the elderly women and asked, "What are you doing?" The elderly women reportedly insisted that Mr. A's belongings were their own.

Electronic devices with cut wires. [Image source=Online community]

Mr. A reported the incident to the police on the same day and said he received a text message assigning a detective in the afternoon of the 3rd. Mr. A said, "I also grew up with elderly women and was tolerant of respecting the elderly, but because of this incident, my view of people picking up scrap paper on the street has become less favorable," adding, "I will definitely find them so that no one else suffers the same damage."

Netizens responded with comments such as "They should be arrested immediately," "I understand it's hard to make a living, but this is a crime," "They should face legal punishment," and "They acted so boldly that I suspect they might be habitual offenders."

Meanwhile, Article 329 of the Criminal Act states that a person who steals another person's property shall be punished by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 10 million won. However, for theft to be established, 'intent to unlawfully gain' must be recognized. Intent to unlawfully gain means the intention to use or dispose of another person's property as one's own.

However, if two or more people jointly commit theft, special theft charges apply. In this case, the punishment is imprisonment for one year to ten years.

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