16-Year-Old Turned to Burglaries at Unmanned Stores to Pay Cyber Gambling Debt, Fled on Stolen Motorcycle

[Financial News] A 16-year-old was arrested after riding a stolen motorcycle to break into unmanned stores and steal cash in order to repay debt from cyber gambling. He drove without a license, smashed kiosks with tools to take the money, and the repair costs for the damaged stores ended up more than four times the amount stolen.
According to Ilsanseobu Police Station on the 17th, police are investigating the teenager, identified as A, on charges including aggravated theft, attempted aggravated theft, and unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act. He is accused of breaking into seven unmanned stores in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, over three days early last month, smashing kiosks with tools and taking cash.
Police said their investigation found that A stole about 870,000 won in 10 separate incidents. The damage to store facilities was even greater than the cash loss. The cost of repairing the broken kiosks was estimated at about 3.8 million won.
After receiving a 112 Police Emergency Number report that the safe at an unmanned store had been broken into, police deployed detectives, searched the surrounding area, and tracked the suspect's route. As the investigation began, additional reports of theft from other unmanned stores were also filed.
Police said A carried out the crimes over about three hours, moving from one of the seven unmanned stores to another. While following the expected escape route, officers spotted a motorcycle rider whose appearance matched the suspect's and began a pursuit.
When police blocked the route with a van, A abandoned the motorcycle and ran away. He later hid in a nearby residential area, but was caught by officers who continued the search.
Investigators also found that the motorcycle A had been riding was neither legally owned nor rented. Police confirmed that the motorcycle was stolen property, and that A had been riding it without a driver's license.
During questioning, A reportedly said he committed the crimes to pay off debt from cyber gambling. Police plan to further investigate the details of the thefts from the unmanned stores and how he obtained the motorcycle before sending him to prosecutors without detention.
[email protected] Jung Ji-woo Reporter