Crook Smashes ATM With Sledgehammer Just As Cops Arrive

Story ByJohn FengSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyAsia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a man smashes an ATM machine with a massive sledgehammer just as cops pull up behind him.

Police in the city of Pingdingshan in China’s central Henan Province say the “determined” suspect, surnamed Wang, was so focused on the would-be heist that he did not realise when they showed up right behind him.

CCTV cameras from the branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China show Zhang hacking away at the screen and casing of the automated teller machine.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

A witness reported him to the Guangming Road Police Station at 2:05am on 2nd June.

Officer Li Xinsheng and two of his colleagues arrived five minutes later and said they heard a loud clanging sounds coming from the ATM booth.

They approached the suspect, who Li said was so “focused and determined” that he did not see them, allowing them to easily subdue and handcuff him.

They seized Zhang’s sledgehammer, gloves, pliers as well as other tools, which he had purchased online for the job.

Zhang police investigators he had moved to Pingdingshan in August 2018 but decided to steal from the bank after having been unable to find a “suitable job” since.

The police said now heavily damaged ATM machine contained 67,000 RMB (7,630 GBP).

The suspect has been detained and the investigation is ongoing.