Still no arrests over subway robbery: police

The thief who robbed a man lying unconscious on Stockholm subway tracks has still not been found by police, despite extensive search efforts.

• Man hit by train after robber leaves him to die (12 Sep 12)

The footage of the incident (featured below) was broadcast on Swedish crime-watch television programme Efterlyst (“Wanted”) on Wednesday night, prompting a number of tips from the public.

“We got many calls on the police hotline. According to the police the tip-offs are pointing in a certain direction,” said press office of MTG TV Wayne Seretis to the Expressen newspaper.

However, the calls have so far not lead to any arrests.

“No one has been arrested. It may be that this person was only temporarily in Sweden and isn’t here anymore. But if he is here, hopefully many people have seen the picture of him and will recognize him if they see him around town,” said Dan Östman of the Stockholm police to the TT news agency.

The security footage shows the suspect following the clearly inebriated 38-year-old victim, named in media as Johnny, at the Sandsborg metro station, south of Stockholm, at 3am on Sunday.

At one point, it appears the suspect is searching through the pockets of the drunken man.

When Johnny stands up in what appears to be an attempt to spit or vomit onto the tracks, he falls onto the rails, prompting the robber to jump down after him.

There, the thief relieves the man of a wallet, a mobile phone and a gold chain, and then jumps back onto the platform and exits the station - leaving Johnny on the tracks before an approaching train.

The suspect even waves to the ticket seller at the turnstiles as he leaves.

Moments later, a train approaches and runs over the robbery victim, however the driver had noticed the body and managed to brake beforehand, lessening the impact.

Johnny is currently recovering in hospital, but half of his left foot has been amputated and his right knee has been damaged to a point where he’ll need a prosthetic in future.

Based on the security footage, police have classified the incident as aggravated theft.

“We are classifying it as aggravated theft rather than robbery, as the latter implies that the perpetrator threatens or renders his victim in a state of powerlessness and we didn’t see anything like that. The person who was drunk had achieved that state of powerlessness himself," said Östman to TT.

That the perpetrator didn’t try to assist the helpless man on the tracks or call emergency services is not something he could be charged for.

“There is no law that says he has to take action,” said Östman to TT.

Video courtesy of Efterlyst and TV3play.se



TT/The Local/og
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