PICKPOCKETS are a hazard one has to watch out for, especially when travelling in certain countries where it remains a prevalent issue in tourist areas.
An Indonesian woman’s bravery and determination in catching a pickpocket who stole her wallet while travelling by train in France was commended online. She was carrying €420 (RM2,075).
According to Indonesian news portal, Kompas, the woman, identified as Nur Idni Anwar, also popularly known as Nunik, was in the train with her family when she came across three young women aged between 19 to 20 years old. Two of the women looked heavily pregnant.
As soon as she saw the two heavily pregnant commuters, the 54-year-old asked her youngest child to give up the seat for one of them. One of the women, wearing a black shirt, took the seat while the other woman, clad in a red shirt, stood next to Nunik.
“I often watch reels about pickpockets in Europe.
“So I whispered to my husband that these girls looked like pickpockets,“ she was quoted as saying.
A few moments later,Nunik checked her bag and discovered that her wallet was missing. She then confronted the pregnant passenger seated in front of her about the wallet.
The woman immediately denied the accusation so then, Nunik suspected the woman wearing the red shirt being the pickpocket – believing that she stole her wallet and handed it to the woman in black.
The woman in black exited at the next station. Nunik and her family initially hesitated to go after them but eventually decided to also get off at the same station and split up to look for the three women. Her husband and children went to search for the pregnant women while Nunik was left with the third woman, reportedly dressed in a white shirt.
The woman wearing white was said to be the decoy in the pickpocketing operation. Nunik claimed that the woman gestured toward the train, indicating that the actual pickpocket got back on the train.
Nunik re-entered the train, prying open the doors which allegedly reopened. Her family rejoined her as well and the child reported seeing one of the pregnant women nearby. They exited the train again and tracked down the decoy.
As soon as Nunik caught sight of the decoy, who was going up an escalator, she immediately approached her and grabbed onto her shirt.
The decoy denied the theft and refused to admit her alleged complicity but Nunik refused to give up and yelled that the woman was part of a pickpocket gang which drew the attention of two other women who communicated with Nunik using Google Translate and urged the decoy to admit the alleged theft.
Nunik continued yelling that her wallet was stolen. Later on, a man assisted Nunik and called the police and also spoke to the decoy who still refused to confess until after an hour, she made a phone call.
After that, the pregnant woman in black returned to the station and returned Nunik’s wallet. The police arrived shortly afterward and took away the pickpockets.
Following the incident, she realised that €70 was missing out of the original total in her wallet but chose not to pursue her case further. Nunik asked the French police to not detain the pregnant pickpockets, considering their pregnancy.
