Man steals for ‘unforgettable’ police lunch

Thief addicted to police boxed lunches
From correspondents in Taipei, taiwan Reuters June 16, 2009 02:57pm
A JOBLESS Taiwan man released from prison stole a box of cotton swabs just to get arrested again because he “could not forget the police department boxed lunches”.
The homeless man in Taipei first stole a pair of shoes on Sunday, was detained and released, the Liberty Times said.

He then resorted to stealing again the next day just to get back inside and be fed for free.

“If someone’s not doing well and comes in around meal time, we’ll definitely prepare food,” said an officer at the Hsinyi District police station, which handled the case but again released the suspect, Tsou Hao-lan.

In another sign of the times on the recession-hit island, a man who had been without a job for four months stole a motor scooter and drove it to a Taipei-area police station, the paper said.

Taiwan is in recession and economists see more weakness through most of 2009, given falling demand for Taiwan’s electronics goods overseas.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,25644858-1702,00.html