China phone thief wins $11,000 from victim

By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

CHINA-ECONOMY-TRADE-FREE
A couple use their mobile devices on a street in Shanghai.
Photograph by Peter Parks — AFP/Getty Images

A phone thief in China is getting money from his target. Yes, that’s right. He’s getting paid $11,000 for an attempt at stealing.

The reason? Because the mugger was hurt in a scuffle that ensued after he attempted – and failed – steal his victim’s phone. The target, who’s known as Yuan, was also ordered to three months probation, according to AFP.

The thief, who is known as Zeng, apparently attempted to steal the target’s phone in Dongguan. But instead of taking the device, Yuan and two others chased after the mugger and beat him up.

Zeng reported the incident, which occurred in February, to the police. The three victims-turns-assailants turned themselves into the police after.

But why are they in trouble? Because they failed to report the attempted robbery, according to the publication. The original article also failed to note whether Zeng, the mugger, is in trouble with the law for the attempted mugging.