Not even the watchful eyes of God could deter a 28-year-old thief, identified by his initials ER, from trying to steal from somebody in a mosque in Johar Baru, Central Jakarta.
The victim, W, put down his wallet next to him as he prayed in the mosque on Tuesday evening. This proved to be too tempting for ER.
“Seeing W putting down his wallet, ER then approached W,” said Malawat, head of the Crime Investigation Unit at the Johar Baru Police, as quoted by Vivanews yesterday.
ER then swiped the wallet, which contained Rp 1.7 million in cash. W then realized what had happened when ER tried to run away in a hurry.
W then shouted at ER, which brought the attention of locals in the area. The locals then captured ER and gave him a brutal beating. Luckily, the police arrived before the angry mob could kill him.
ER admitted to the police that this wasn’t the first time he had committed a crime in a mosque. At least mosque-goers can now pray in peace knowing that one more mosque thief is behind bars.
