Bus drivers steal coins from fare boxes using magnets

A gang of nine who allegedly stole more than 70,000 yuan (US$10,969) of coins from bus fare boxes has been charged with theft, Changning District prosecutors said yesterday.

The gang, eight of them bus drivers, used magnets to suck coins out of fare boxes during the period from December 2007 to June 2011. They also forged keys to open the fare boxes, the prosecutors said.

Within four years, the gang stole more than 70,000 yuan from their buses on Route 88 which runs from Zhongshan Park to Xinchao Road in Changning District.

They used instant noodle bowls to cover the monitoring cameras and stole the money around twice a week.

One suspect surnamed Shen was caught on June 5 by a police patrol who suspected Shen was an unlicensed taxi driver and followed him to Xianxia Road, just one stop from the bus terminal. The officer found in Shen's car a heavy sack of coins which Shen could to tell where it came from.

Later, Shen confessed to his crime and led the police to other gang members, the prosecutors said.


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