Chinese shopkeepers pepper-spray and beat up would-be robber in Italy

Chinese shopkeepers pepper-spray and beat up would-be robber in Italy

Two would-be robbers in Milan, Italy, picked the wrong shop to steal from, and were taught a painful lesson by the shop's Chinese owners.

The entire robbery attempt, which occurred at a convenience store in Milan's Chinatown last month, was captured on the shop's surveillance camera.

The footage shows two men wearing masks, who appear to be armed with knives, trying to force the male shopkeeper to open the cash register and hand over some money.

At one point, they managed to open the register, but the shopkeeper just pushed it close again, prompting one of the men to jump over the counter.

That's when the robbers' plan begins to unravel. The shopkeeper took a step into the back room before returning with pepper spray, spraying it at both men.

One man quickly flees from the shop clutching his face, but the man behind the counter is not so lucky. The shopkeeper quickly pins him face-down over the counter, aiming blows at the bottom half of his body.

As he is pinned down, the shopkeeper's wife enters the scene as well, aiming kick after kick at the hapless robber's head. He eventually clambers to his feet and runs away.

According to Shanghaiist, the video has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms, with many netizens praising the bravery of the husband and wife.

The footage of the incident was also posted onto YouTube, where it has been viewed over 15,000 times.

There have been various cases of petty criminals being thwarted in their attempts to get up to no good. Notably, in 2014, a man was stopped from burgling a bank in China, when he was hit repeatedly by a cleaning lady with a mop.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

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