Trial in Feldkirch

Furnishing his apartment with stolen goods

The German will now spend a few months in prison and will also have to make good the damage.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

An unemployed German man not only financed his living with stolen goods from stores in Vorarlberg, but also decorated his apartment. On Friday, he had to answer for this at Feldkirch Regional Court.  

"You receive a citizen's allowance of 480 euros and your apartment is also paid for by the state. How do you envisage your future when you get out of prison?" public prosecutor Christoph Stadler wants to know from the accused. The 36-year-old permanently unemployed man answers somewhat piqued: "I didn't steal for fun. I wanted to work when I came to Austria, but that just wasn't possible. I just have to look."

The accused fully confessed
The man, who already had several previous convictions in Germany, had been charged by the Feldkirch public prosecutor's office because he had committed several shoplifting offenses in August - spread throughout Vorarlberg. The German's standard haul included toiletries, shoes, clothing and food. And because he also wanted to do something good for himself, he "treated" himself to a Playstation on top. He ended up spending his lavish free time at home with it. Apparently, the man also attached great importance to a nice ambience: for example, he had spiced up his apartment with candles and an artificial rubber tree, all of which were of course also stolen.

In the end, however, the handcuffs clicked: A store employee had observed the thief stealing and alerted the police. During his interrogation, the unemployed man admitted to the crimes, but he was still not able to avoid a prison sentence. This was not changed by the closing statement of his defense lawyer, who said: "There is only the remorseful confession and the hope that the defendant will start working at some point." The final sentence is: 15 months in prison, ten of which are suspended, and restitution of around 1,600 euros. It is unclear when the private parties will see their money. Or to put it in the words of the offender: "The injured parties will get their money when I have money."