An expatriate convicted of theft after he stole gold from a shop in Manama and threatened a have-a-go hero with a knife has had his prison sentence upheld.
The man whose age and nationality were not outlined at the hearing, stood trial for the crime towards the end of March, where he was sentenced to three years behind bars and deportation following the completion of his sentence.
The drama happened in mid-February on a Friday night around 7pm, when the sneaky thief entered a jewellery store in Manama, close to Bab Al Bahrain.
The Appeals Court heard how he had approached a Pakistani shopkeeper, pretended to be interested in purchasing a gold set of jewellery and asked to look at it.
The set, attached to a wooden board, was placed on a counter to allow him to take a photograph of it.
When another customer entered the outlet distracting the shopkeeper, he grabbed the display and dashed out of the store. The shop worker bravely gave chase, shouting: “Thief!” repeatedly to draw attention to his predicament.
A brave Bahraini, who was passing close by, joined the pursuit and during the race, pieces of the gold set detached from the board and fell to the ground. The dynamic duo managed to snatch the pieces up and continue with the chase.
Realising he was losing his booty, the thief attempted to place the remaining items into a bag, and was thwarted by another brave Bahraini who managed to cut him off in front of a tailoring shop.
The thug produced a large knife from his bag and threatened to stab the have-a-go-hero but, in his panic, the hapless thief tripped over and banged his head on the board.
One of the community champions caught up with the dazed villain and grabbed the knife out of his hand to ensure the safety of everyone around him.
The trio subdued him, successfully recovered all the stolen items and marched him to a nearby police inspection point at Bab Al Bahrain, where he was arrested, referred to the Public Prosecution and escorted to Salmaniya Medical Complex for treatment to his bloody head injury.
His personal headache remains. The Appeals Court yesterday heard his case and judges ruled to uphold his original High Criminal Court sentence.
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