On Wednesday, the Mechelen Criminal Court sentenced a 27-year-old man from Palestine to twelve months' probation. He was caught red-handed in a DIY store and claimed he had been forced to commit the theft.
On 4 April, the alarm went off at Fera in Bornem. The police went to the scene and found the defendant hiding in the room where the safe was located. The man had cut a hole in the fence and also broken a roller door. Several interior doors in the shop had been forced open with a crowbar.
"The man stated that a certain Mohamed S. had forced him to commit the theft," the public prosecutor's office said. "The defendant owes that man €80,000 and has been threatened several times. An investigation into Mohamed is ongoing, but that does not make these acts any less punishable. I am seeking a 15-month prison sentence."
The man's lawyer requested a suspended sentence. "He was under a lot of pressure from Mohamed and he has psychological problems due to what he experienced in his home country and the situation with his extortionist," said his lawyer. "He needs psychological counselling."
The man was given a 12-month suspended sentence and must look for work or follow a training course.
