Thief: 'I was just testing the bank's security'
A remorseful thief returned the money he stole from a bank in Ånäset in northern Sweden. The thief claimed to have been testing bank security.
The man walked into an unlocked safe at Swedbank in Ånäset in northern Sweden on the afternoon of October 11th 2007 and walked out with 20,000 kronor ($3,350) in cash.
It was only when a bank employee noticed that the vault had been left open and unlocked that the theft was discovered, according to local newspaper, Västerbottens Folkblad.
The thief regretted his heist however and waited until the following weekend to make amends by returning the money to the bank through the letter box. The man, who is resident in Robertsfors, left a note which read:
"I am sorry that I took the money. I feel very ashamed."
The man had not gone completed unnoticed however as the bank's security cameras had caught him on film both entering the vault and leaving the bank. Police searched his home later that day but found no money.
Whether the police raid had any effect on the man's decision to return the money is unclear. Police were able to eventually tie the man to the theft through finger prints left on the note and the assembled witness testimony of bank staff.
The man was arrested by police and interrogated in May and he denied the offence. Under pressure from the mounting evidence against him the man elected to change his story and admit the offence.
The man claims that when he saw the unlocked vault he had an impulse to check the bank's security system, according to Västerbottens Folkblad. He now denies having ever written the note.
Police have charged the man on suspicion of theft.
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The man walked into an unlocked safe at Swedbank in Ånäset in northern Sweden on the afternoon of October 11th 2007 and walked out with 20,000 kronor ($3,350) in cash.
It was only when a bank employee noticed that the vault had been left open and unlocked that the theft was discovered, according to local newspaper, Västerbottens Folkblad.
The thief regretted his heist however and waited until the following weekend to make amends by returning the money to the bank through the letter box. The man, who is resident in Robertsfors, left a note which read:
"I am sorry that I took the money. I feel very ashamed."
The man had not gone completed unnoticed however as the bank's security cameras had caught him on film both entering the vault and leaving the bank. Police searched his home later that day but found no money.
Whether the police raid had any effect on the man's decision to return the money is unclear. Police were able to eventually tie the man to the theft through finger prints left on the note and the assembled witness testimony of bank staff.
The man was arrested by police and interrogated in May and he denied the offence. Under pressure from the mounting evidence against him the man elected to change his story and admit the offence.
The man claims that when he saw the unlocked vault he had an impulse to check the bank's security system, according to Västerbottens Folkblad. He now denies having ever written the note.
Police have charged the man on suspicion of theft.
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