Man gets 3 years jail term for attempting to steal smartphone

TDT | Manama

The First High Criminal Court gave a three-year jail term to a 20-year-old Bahraini man for attempting to steal a smartphone from a shopkeeper. Court files say the incidents leading to the case occurred last December at an equipment and machinery store in Muharraq Governorate.

According to the Public Prosecution, the suspect approached the shopkeeper, pretending to sell his bicycle. The shopkeeper, however, told him that he has no interest in buying it. “He was persistent, despite informing that I don’t want to buy his bicycle.

“I warned him to call the police if he doesn’t leave, but that didn’t scare him and he stayed. “I then walked out of the shop to call the cops, leaving my other phone inside the shop,” the victim told investigators,” the victim told investigators.

The shopkeeper, an Asian national, also told investigators that the suspect snatched the phone while he at the door of the shop. “I was standing at the door of the shop with my eyes on him.

He suddenly reached out for my phone and grabbed, thinking I wasn’t watching and attempted to leave the shop. “I grabbed him by his shirt and he punched me twice. “A civilian police patrol soon reached the spot, while I was still grabbing him. “They immediately arrested him and we all went to the police station,” he said.