Thieves with a conscience
Thieves are often considered to be heartless and greedy; callous in their thoughts and deeds. However, sometimes they may have a change of heart and return the stolen items to their rightful owners. This may happen due to various reasons, such as feeling guilty, having compassion, facing financial difficulties, or being influenced by religion. In some cases, the thieves may even add more money or items to the ones they have taken, or write an apology note to express their regret. Here are six examples of such cases, where thieves showed remorse and compassion.
Image: Canva
Thieves return National Film Awards to director M Manikandan
Thieves who had broken into the house of director M Manikandan in Usilampatti, Madurai, on February 8, 2024, stole some cash, gold jewellery, and two National Film Awards that he had won for his films ‘Kaaka Muttai’ and ‘Kadaisi Vivasayi’. However, a few days later, they returned the awards in a plastic bag with an apology note, saying, “Sir, forgive us. Your hard work is yours." The note was left outside the gate of the house. The police are still investigating the case and trying to recover the other stolen items.
Image: Wikipedia
Thief returns money to woman after seeing her bank balance
In 2019, an armed robber in China returned the money to a woman after seeing that she had next to nothing left in her bank account. He had snatched her purse at a knifepoint and demanded that she show him her balance at an ATM. When he saw that she had only 2.5 yuan (about 29 rupees) in her account, he felt sorry for her and handed back her purse with 1000 yuan (about 11,608 rupees) that he had taken from her. He then ran away before the police arrived.
Image: CGTN/Youtube
Thief returns stolen COVID vaccine doses with a note saying, ‘Sorry, I didn’t know’
A thief in Haryana, India, returned over 1,700 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were stolen from the PP Centre General Hospital in Jind. in April 2021. The thief left the vaccines in a bag at a tea stall near a police station, telling the staff that it was food for a police official. Along with the vaccines, there was a note saying, “Sorry, I didn’t know it was medicine for Corona." The police recovered the vaccines and said they were still usable. The thief had taken 1,270 doses of Covishield and 440 doses of Covaxin from the hospital’s storehouse, possibly mistaking them for remdesivir, an anti-viral drug in high demand.
Image: ANI
Thief returns money to Dargah with a letter
A burglar reportedly returned a portion of the stolen funds to a dargah in Rajasthan, approximately one month after the theft. The individual had absconded with around 2 lakh rupees from the dargah's donation box, but later returned approximately 1 lakh rupees. Alongside the returned sum, a letter was left behind, detailing the financial difficulties that prompted the theft and requesting forgiveness. The letter also conveyed a sense of tranquility experienced during prayers at the dargah. The caretaker expressed satisfaction at the apparent repentance of the thief and hoped for divine forgiveness.
Image: X
Thief returns money to man he robbed 30 years ago
A US thief returned the money to a man he robbed 30 years ago in a store in Barry, Michigan, with interest. He wrote an anonymous letter, specifying that he had forcefully taken money from a store worker back in the 80s and wanted to return it. The said employee was found by the police, and he verified the claim. The thief had sent $1200 (about 99,663 rupees), which was more than the original amount of $800 (about 66,442 rupees). He also apologized for the trouble he had caused and said he was trying to make amends for his past mistakes.
Image: Canva
Thief returns money to woman with an apology note
A thief in Springfield, USA, returned $40 (about 290 US dollars) and added 30 more (about 220 US dollars) from his side a day after taking money from the tip jar. Along with the money, there was a letter explaining his struggle with drug addiction: “To the employees who worked yesterday, I truly apologize for what happened. It was a stupid mistake made while under the influence of drugs, which is not an excuse, just the truth. There was 40 something (dollars) in there when it was taken. I tried to double it but could only get 70 dollars. I’m sorry. I’m not a bad person, just a man with an addiction. I AM sorry!!!” (sic). The owner of the store said he was moved by the thief’s honesty and hoped he would get help for his addiction.
Image: Canva
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