The Idul Fitri holiday is a time of celebration but also a source of stress for some Muslims who feel pressured to return to their hometowns bearing signs of their successful lives. That pressure can drive people to do stupid things.
A 45-year-old man was caught while trying to steal a mobile phone from a parked car in the city of Surabaya, East Java, on Friday. And we literally mean “caught” in that he was both caught in the act of stealing and trapped inside the car he had tried to steal it from.
At around 11:30pm, a man named M Nasichin was driving along when he suffered a flat rear tire. After he found a tire repairman, Nasichin parked his car on the side of the road and got out, leaving his doors unlocked while he focused on his tire.
According to the police account, Nasichin’s car suddenly shook five minutes later. Shocked, he went to the front of his car and saw there was a man inside.
He quickly shouted for help while closing the car doors and, with the help of the tire repairman, managed to trap the thief inside.
Police said the thief, identified as Bambang, could only whine for help until they arrived on the scene and arrested him.
Bambang told police he had gotten into the car to take Nasichin’s Huawei brand mobile phone because he wanted a nicer one for the Lebaran holiday.
“The perpetrator said this was the only time he had ever stolen anything, he wanted to have a better mobile phone for Lebaran later,” Tambaksari Police Chief Didik Ariawan told Jatim Now.
However police said they were still investigating the case to see if it was indeed Nasichin’s first theft or if he had a track record of stealing before pressing charges.
