■ Two "video game addicts" obsessed with games, stole 9 mountain bikes in half a month
■ Almost all the stolen money was spent on video games, leaving them malnourished from hunger
The Morning Post reports: These are two young men addicted to video games. For the sake of gaming, they neglected their homes, abandoned their careers, and ended up penniless. In May this year, these two men met at an arcade and decided to steal mountain bikes together. Each time they sold the stolen goods, apart from buying a little food, all the money was spent on video games, so much so that when they were caught by the Detective Team No.2 of Yaohai Public Security Bureau, the two "video game addicts" were already suffering from some degree of malnutrition due to hunger.
Two men became gaming confidants
One day in May this year, 19-year-old Bi Mou came to an arcade near Huaihe Road for his gaming fix. Without money, he tried inserting counterfeit bills into the gaming machines and got beaten up as a result. This scene was witnessed by 25-year-old Yan Mou, and after talking, they found they were "kindred spirits".
Bi Mou used to be a decoration worker who had a promising future if he worked hard, but he often spent his time in arcades and had no time left to work. Last October, when Bi Mou was short on cash but wanted to play video games, he stole several thousand yuan from a friend and was subsequently sentenced to five months of detention.
Many people found it hard to understand why Bi Mou was so addicted to video games, but Yan Mou understood him. Because for the sake of gaming, Yan Mou paid an even higher price than Bi Mou. Yan Mou said that he used to be in business, but ever since he started playing video games, he abandoned his business and lost hundreds of thousands of yuan. Last September, in order to get money for gaming, he committed theft and was sentenced to re-education through labor. He had just been released not long before meeting Bi Mou.
Similar experiences and shared interests brought the two together. With no money and too embarrassed to return home, the two decided to work together to make some money to cover their expenses.
To fund their gaming habit, they conspired to steal bikes
Bi Mou and Yan Mou decided to steal bicycles. "They discovered that stealing bicycles was relatively easy, so they chose more valuable mountain bikes as their target," explained the investigating officer.
In terms of stealing bikes, Bi Mou would keep watch while Yan Mou carried out the theft. Then, they began their operations. They selected areas with high foot traffic and convenient transportation such as the Yuan Yi Times Square and Mingguang Road Bus Station as their crime locations.
Starting from mid-June, the duo committed multiple thefts, but there were also many attempts that failed. On June 21st at 9 am, Yan Mou was caught red-handed trying to steal a bike outside Red Star Macalline. "What are you doing!" Upon hearing someone shout, Yan Mou immediately ran away.
"He is thin and runs very fast. Before the security guard could catch up, he had already run to Linquan Road and jumped over the median barrier to escape," Yan Mou escaped but left behind his ID card. Originally, while running, Yan Mou thought the tools in his pants pocket (used for the theft) were cumbersome, so he discarded them. However, in the process, he accidentally threw out the ID card in his pocket as well.
Caught while suffering from malnutrition
After receiving the security guard's report, the police officers of Yaohai Detective Team No.2 arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation around the ID card, "We retrieved the personal information of the ID owner, Yan Mou, and had the security guards identify him. It was confirmed that Yan Mou was indeed the one committing theft at the scene."
At around 8 am on July 5th, the police captured Yan Mou and Bi Mou, who were still asleep, at a hotel on Tunxi Road.
"When we arrested them, both looked pitiful. They had no money for food and were suffering from some degree of malnutrition." Facing the police interrogation, Bi Mou and Yan Mou confessed to their crimes of stealing 9 mountain bikes together, "They confessed to about eight or nine cases. These mountain bikes were all sold to strangers, with the most expensive being sold for 400 yuan and the cheapest for dozens of yuan."
How could they end up like this after committing so many crimes in just over half a month? Through further interrogation, the police found the answer, "Each time they succeeded in a crime, they spent most of the money on video games, only keeping a small amount for food."
Currently, Bi Mou and Yan Mou have been criminally detained, and the police are continuing to investigate the case further.
Interns Ye Wei, Zhang Haibo, Han Chunfen, and reporter Han Zhenzhen of our newspaper welcome your comments. I want to comment. Weibo recommendations | Today's Weibo hot topics (Editor: SN044)