[Yonhap Photo]
A 43-year-old debt-stricken man has been arrested for robbing a small provincial bank in a rare armed heist using a US-made pistol produced during World War II, police said Monday.
The robbery came to an end Saturday evening, 55 hours after the man identified only by his surname Kim was caught in a chase based on security camera footages that showed images of the robber loading his bicycle to a small cargo truck.
Kim confessed to his crime, telling investigators that he had plotted the heist due to mounting personal debt. As decisive evidence, police retrieved a .45-caliber gun used for his four-minute robbery and three magazines loaded with 11 bullets, near his home in Gyeongsan some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Seoul.
Forensic experts said Kim's weapon turned out to be one of the guns produced in the United State from 1942-1945. US and South Korean troops had used such guns during and after the 1950-53 Korean War. Kim claimed to have acquired the gun in 2003 during his visit to the warehouse of his company superior's friend.
Last Friday, Kim stormed into a bank branch in Gyeongsan, fired a warning shot, and fled on a bicycle with bank bills worth 15.6 million won (13,805 US dollars) stuffed into his sack. The bank was too small to have security guards and no one was hurt.
Police had offered a cash reward of 10 million won in their wanted poster that showed a CCTV image of Kim wearing gloves, a hat, a bicycle mask and an outdoor jacket.
Armed bank robbery is rare in South Korea because of tight restrictions on firearms. Selected ownership is allowed only for game hunting and sports and the owners are required to take cyclical license tests and keep their weapons at police stations.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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