A woman was the first of several bystanders to step in and restrain a man, after he smashed a jewelry store window with a hammer, and began stuffing gold jewelry into a bag during a brazen daylight robbery in Taitung City, Monday.
Surveillance camera footage of the incident showed a suspect smashing the display window of a jewelry store at the intersection of Zhonghua Road and Datong Road at around 9:45 am. As the man stuffed gold jewelry into a bag, a woman wearing a motorcycle helmet approached and grabbed him from behind. Two men then quickly came to her assistance and pushed the man to the ground.
The three citizens then held the suspect on the ground while others called the police.
Police arrived a short time later and arrested the 33-year-old suspect, named Liao.
Liao was charged with offences related to the robbery, and the District Prosecutor requested Liao be kept in detention. However, the Taitung District Court considered that charges being faced did not carry a prison sentence of more than 5 years, there were no potential accomplices, and there was no chance that the suspect could tamper with evidence. It was also noted that Liao already regularly reported to police due to previous convictions, and he was not a flight risk. Therefore, there was no need for detention, and Liao was released without bail.
Reports noted that Liao has a long criminal history, and was drunk at the time he committed the attempted robbery, Monday.
According to police reports, the woman who was first to confront the robber, and one of the men who assisted, were a married couple. Police quashed rumors circulating on the Internet saying that the couple were off-duty police officers. The people involved were concerned citizens, police said, adding that they wanted to remain low-key, and not have their names publicized. The couple also declined a cash reward from the jewelry store owner.
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