A "helpful" criminal is more dangerous than an enemy

This criminal incident occurred in the spring of the current year at the Orsha railway station, where a so-called "guest worker" - a resident of one of the districts of the Mogilev region - returned from Russia by hitchhiking.

Having consumed a considerable amount of alcohol on his way home, he struggled up the steps of the overpass to the station with his belongings to go to his village. This was noticed by P., who lived near the station and was heading there on his own business. Assessing the situation, he offered the man his help in escorting him to the train and offered to carry his bags. On the way to the ticket offices, they got acquainted and had a smoke. After buying a ticket, they sat down on a bench in the waiting room, where the victim began to show his new acquaintance the photos on his smartphone.

When the announcer announced the arrival of the next passenger train to Mogilev, the "acquaintance" calmly put the mobile phone, which was in his hand at that time, into his jacket pocket, taking advantage of the inattention and intoxicated state of the departing passenger, who suspected nothing. After escorting the passenger, who had forgotten about his phone, to the carriage, and who, moreover, thanked the escort with 10 rubles, the accused, after saying goodbye to him, immediately bought and consumed alcohol in the station cafe with the money received, and on his way home, threw away the SIM card from the stolen mobile phone.

Noticing a stranger's phone in his apartment, his wife warned him that it could cause problems. And she was right. The transport police, with the help of video surveillance cameras, identified the perpetrator, and the stolen item had to be returned to the owner.

The court of the Orsha district and the city of Orsha sentenced P. to 200 hours of community service under Part 1 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (theft).

Deputy Vitebsk Transport Prosecutor
P. Dedyuro