Malaysian tried for Cartier theft, hijacking of taxi
Print Edition
A Malaysian is being tried for allegedly stealing several watches from a Cartier outlet in Beijing and hijacking a taxi during his escape, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
Moi Kit Leng, 39, stands accused of robbing a Cartier shop in Beijing’s downtown Wangfujing area by using a fake gun, prosecutors said during the trial on Tuesday.
Moi entered the luxury watch outlet when only one staffer was there, threatened her with the gun, tied her hands and left with a total of 11 watches worth nearly 3.2 million yuan (US$501,000).
He then hijacked a taxi but was apprehended by police after about 20 minutes. Due to heavy traffic at the time of the robbery — around 7pm — he was caught only 2 kilometers from the scene of the crime, the Beijing Times reported yesterday, quoting prosecutors.
During the trial, Moi claimed that he “lost control of himself.” “My mind just went blank. I could tell that I was about to make a huge mistake,” he said.
“I can’t recount the whole thing, but I did it indeed,” he said, admitting to the robbery.
His lawyer, Han Xiao, said that Moi might suffer from mental problems. Han pointed to a history of mental illness in Moi’s family — both his father and his twin brother have been diagnosed with mental health problems — and said that friends and relatives witnessed what they described as “abnormal behavior” in the weeks leading up to the robbery in March.
They reported that he once cried for three hours in the bathroom, and that he had been under financial pressure after his start-up failed, Han said.
When he was still working for his previous employer he was teased by his Chinese colleagues about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The constant questions about the flight, Moi said, led him to withdraw into himself.
Han said he would apply for a mental examination. The Beijing No.2 Intermediate Peoples’ Court adjourned the hearing until further notice.
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