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Life sentence may end early for ATM thief

A FORMER police college student serving a life sentence may gain his freedom after being jailed for taking money from a malfunctioning ATM.

China's Supreme People's Court is in the process of approving a communed penalty for He Peng from Yunnan Province. If approved, the prisoner, now in his 30s, will be released in January next year after eight years and six months, according to today's Beijing News.

He was jailed for life in Kunming City in July 2002 for taking more than 429,000 yuan (US$62,828) from a malfunctioning ATM that credited his account with money, even though he had just 10 yuan in his account.

He's father He Jiangui said he has sold all the family property and has spent the last eight years in filing appeals. He told the newspaper he was worried how his son would survive after being released, having spent his life first in college and then in prison.

Although it wasn't ethically right, the prisoner told Beijing News he didn't think he was guilty because it was like picking money from the street.



 

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