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Magazine Contributors Frans Hertoghs Kiwikorrels: Generous Thief
Magazine Contributors Frans Hertoghs Kiwikorrels: Generous Thief
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By Frans Hertoghs Of course New Zealand is not Utopia. Here burglary, theft, small crimes happen daily too. That particular morning when Graeme and Shirly Glass arrived home, a house near Queenstown, they found their front window in shatters in the front yard. But this time nothing had been stolen. On the contrary.The complete loot was on the kitchen table: the laptop, credit card, camera, everything was there. And even more. A variety of new items bought with their own credit card. Next to the unfamiliar gloves and Nike baseball-cap was a nice note. From the thief, who deeply regretted his action and would compensate everything - as soon as he had enough money. The family Glass – what’s in a name? - was happy that the loot was back, but nevertheless informed the local police of the burglary. They came and had a look and understandably didn't undertake further steps. End of the story? No, some weeks later Glass found $150 cash under a stone in the front yard. More than enough to compensate for the $100 excess of the glass insurance. He made money. But the fact that the anonymous gentleman-burglar again had been secretly in their garden did not give the Glass family a very safe feeling. The couple got the impression that the offender hung around somewhere in the neighbourhood and that they could run into him any day. A bit frightening, they said. And therefore the police came by. They didn't mind taking fingerprints off the bank notes, unfortunately that would make the notes invalid and unusable. And a fingerprint test only makes sense if the offender is in fact known already, as money is handled by many people. But, the police informed, the investigation into finding the offender of the cancelled break-in continues. They even tracked someone down. The security camera in town had already registered someone with exactly the same cap. This uncommon burglary causes some discussions and comments. Most people react positively to the regretful thief. Forget it, they say, at the most a kick in his behind and a promise that he will never do it again. Nevertheless, an unexpectedly large number of people want the offender to face his criminal behaviour. Because replaced crime still remains an offence. The burglar will be faced with his crime. He must learn that he really can't get away with just repayments. Some even plead for a prison sentence, as a frightening example for other would-be burglars. Especially victims of criminal offences react bitter and irreconcilable. But the attacking of the family Glass is most strange. Especially by the forgiving remorse-defenders. 'What are they whinging about, those so-called victims', they say disapprovingly, 'they got everything back, didn't they? Be a bit forgiving! Think of all those victims who lost their belongings forever!’ In short, not just the criminal is condemned, but the victims too. I do not think that the gentleman burglar will be caught. Unless he voluntarily turns himself in. But he would be crazy. The Dutch version of this article is published in the November/December 2007 edition of Holland Focus.
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A burglar bringing back stolen goods and even compensates for the damage. It seems too good to be true. It happens in New Zealand and that led to interesting discussions about debt, remorse and fines.
