JEDDAH, 3 July 2006 — A thief left a brand new car, which he had stolen, in a safe spot after the owner managed to convince a policeman, who had been rude to the thief, to say sorry, the Al-Watan daily reported.
The thief stole the car when the owner had gone into a store at a gas station to buy something and left the engine running in the northern Ubhor region of Jeddah. The man then contacted the Al-Safa police who began searching for the car.
The owner then remembered that he had also left his cell phone in the car and so rang the thief begging him to return the car saying he had just bought the car six days ago. The thief flatly refused and said he liked the electric windows and leather seats not to mention the overall road performance of the car.
Disheartened, he asked a policeman to convince the thief to return the car. The conversation between the policeman and thief began to heat up and for a considerable time both men exchanged obscenities as the owner of the car, feeling even more despondent, looked on in horror fearing the worst. The policeman then threatened to take the man to jail at which the thief slammed the cell phone shut.
The Saudi man then made one more last ditch attempt to convince the thief. This time the thief said he would return the car minus the headlights and stereo on condition the policeman apologizes for swearing at him. The man then pleaded and managed to convince the police officer to apologize.
Five hours later, the thief called the owner and told him the exact location of the car. Police found the car as described without the headlights and stereo but with the cell phone inside.
