Claw machine bandit apprehended after crime spree across Taiwan

縱橫台灣的夾娃娃機大盜落網

Police stakeout of claw machine arcades pays off as man caught in the act of stealing toys and coins


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Pingtung-area man, surnamed Li (李), was recently apprehended after robbing upward of 10 claw machine arcade games across Taiwan.

Li had been short of money after long-term unemployment, leading him to utilize a passkey to loot toys from claw machines, or alternatively, power tools and heavy equipment to break locks on claw machine coin boxes. His exploits were reported in northern areas such as Hsinchu, and as far south as Kaohsiung, per CTS.

Ultimately, it was Kaohsiung's Linyuan Police Precinct that cracked the case. Police from the precinct received a tip that a slightly overweight individual was using a suspicious passkey to loot toys from claw game machines in Linyuan and Daliao area arcades.

On occasion, he would utilize bolt cutters and an electric drill to crack open claw machine coin boxes.

According to a press release issued by the Linyuan Police Precinct, a task force was formed to track down the claw machine bandit. Police reviewed security camera footage from other heists, and began to narrow the list of suspects, ultimately settling on the 26-year-old Li, who lived in the Pingtung area.

After identifying the suspect, police applied to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor's Office for an arrest warrant and identified possible locations the suspect might visit. Police later conducted a stake out of a number of claw machine arcades, hoping to ambush the claw machine bandit in action.

A few days later, Li arrived at a claw machine arcade on Guangming Road in Daliao District. He was in the act of committing a crime when he was ambushed and apprehended by police on the scene on Thursday (July 6).

Police were surprised the license plate on the vehicle Li used did not match the make and model associated with the license plate. This led police to suspect he was guilty of using a stolen license plate to conceal his identity.

Li is in custody and faces sentencing by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office.