Malaysian man admits to 3m yuan watch robbery in Beijing, but ‘cannot remember why and how he did it’
Defence lawyer says his client has a history of mental illness
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 25 November, 2015, 6:46pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 25 November, 2015, 10:34pm
Sidney Leng
[email protected]
Beijing police quickly arrested Moi in March as he made his robbery getaway in a taxi in peak hour traffic: Photo: The Beijing News
A Malaysian man who pleaded guilty to a rare jewellery robbery in the Chinese capital’s busy Wangfujing shopping district told the court on Tuesday that he could not remember how he robbed a watch shop and ran away, The Beijing News reported.
Moi Lit Leng , 39, was dubbed the “Silly Thief” by Chinese internet users after he robbed a Cartier watch store with a model gun and stole 11 watches worth more than 3 million yuan (HK$3.64 million) in March.
Straight after the robbery, Moi took a taxi home at about 7pm - the capital’s rush hour - and was quickly caught by police and charged with robbery.
According to the report, Moi said he couldn’t remember why and how he robbed the shop and later fled the scene.
On the day of the robbery, he took a knife and a hammer from home. “I felt that I was about to make a big mistake, but I didn’t know what exactly it would be,” Moi told the court.
Surveillance footage showed Moi robbing the shop by threatening sales staff with a knife and gun. He tried unsuccessfully to steal a van, then hailed a cab to make his getaway.
Moi told the court that he only his only thoughts as he fled the crime scene were to see his children when he got home.
Moi’s lawyer said Moi had a family history of psychiatric illness, which may have induced the robbery, and that his client had remained in a disturbed state in detention.
Earlier mental assessments, however, found Moi’s mental state was normal, according to the report.
Moi had been unemployed since last August and, according to China’s criminal law, could face deportation, the News reported.
