Attempted ATM Explosion to Steal Money: Man Sentenced to 6 Years

A man in Minhang District, Shanghai, China, detonated a canister of petroleum gas last January to destroy a bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) but failed to steal any cash. The case was recently heard in the Minhang District People's Court. The defendant refused to plead guilty and tried to claim that a friend committed the crime. The court convicted the defendant of theft, sentencing him to six years in prison and fining him 10,000 yuan (RMB, same below).

Surnamed Huang, the man entered a bank's ATM room at 4:53 AM on January 18 last year, wearing a mask. He inserted a bank card and entered a password. After the cash dispensing outlet opened, he stuffed a white package inside and set it on fire. Six minutes later, the ATM suddenly exploded, billowing with smoke. Once the fire died down, Huang returned to the machine room, reached into the cash dispensing slot to pull and search, attempting to retrieve cash but was unsuccessful, and eventually had to leave.

Afterwards it was checked that the ATM contained over 340,000 yuan in cash. Due to the ATM being damaged, the bank can claim over 15,000 yuan in compensation from the defendant.

The police quickly identified the suspect afterwards, but Huang continued to deny his involvement.

When appearing in court, Huang emphasized that the figure in the CCTV footage at the scene was a friend he met online, who asked him to buy the canister of petroleum gas, borrowed a yellow jacket to commit the crime, and may have stolen his bank card for the offense.

The judge pointed out that the yellow jacket used in the crime, the bank card involved, and suspicious search records on the mobile phone were found at Huang's residence. In addition, the landlord’s identification, plus other witness and physical evidence, confirmed Huang was the perpetrator.