Convicted waiter chose robbery over relationship

A waiter has been sentenced to two years in prison for beating up and robbing his girlfriend's date at a hotel in Songjiang district, the local prosecutor's office said Sunday.

The defendant, surnamed Li, 20, from Henan Province, and his two friends were all convicted on robbery charges, though Li's friends received shorter prison terms, according to a press release from the Songjiang District People's Prosecutor's Office.

Li, who worked at a restaurant in the district, was having dinner with his two friends on June 10 when his girlfriend sent him a text message that said she was going to spend the night with another guy, prosecutors said. Li showed the message to his friends, who suggested he get the hotel's address and room number so they could rob her date, who was surnamed Hu. Li told his girlfriend to go through with the date and asked her to send him the address.

Later that night, they showed up at the hotel room and beat up Hu. Li then put a knife to his throat and demanded all of his money, prosecutors said.

Hu pointed to a bag on the bed, which contained cash. The prosecutor's office didn't explain why Hu was carrying a bag of cash or how much money was inside, but it was enough to keep the three men distracted while they counted it.

Hu used the distraction to run to the reception desk and call the police. Responding officers arrived and arrested the men. They also seized the cash.

Li's girlfriend later said she was confused when Li told her to go ahead with the date because she only sent him the message to make him jealous, according to the press release. Still, she kept her plans to go out with Hu due to his repeated requests.

The Songjiang district court also fined each defendant 2,000 yuan ($329).

Global Times