An Italian thief has thanked police for arresting him, which put an end to a beating he was suffering at the hands of Korean tourists who he had robbed in Rome.
"I must thank you - they were massacring me," the 48-year-old criminal said to officers after he was arrested near the Theater of Marcellus, one of the monuments in Rome's historic center.
The thief, from the northern region of Liguria, had stolen a handbag from a woman in a Korean family group taking in the sights. He threatened the family with a knife when he was spotted and then tried to flee.
But two young men in the group chased him for several hundred meters and then sent him crashing with what were said to be taekwondo moves.
They proceeded to disarm the thief and set about administering a beating.
A patrolling police officer then arrived, separated the three and arrested the thief after he heard the story.
"Normally, tourists will just call us and report the incidents," the officer said. "In this case, the two got really excited and could have seriously injured the thief."
The young Koreans left after they got the handbag back while the thief was hauled off to a city jail where robbery charges were laid.
Rome recorded 4,246 cases of armed robbery last year, compared with 5,133 in 2007. The Korean action could lead to another dip.
The Standard HK
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