The Hal-Vilvorde Public Prosecutor's Office ordered a two-year prison sentence against a 73-year-old man on Tuesday, who is suspected of seven bicycle thefts. The verdict is due on 12 July.
The man was has already accumulated more than 25 convictions in total, often for similar offences.
He was caught trying to steal a bicycle in the bike shed at Hal railway station in February. In his rucksack, police found equipment for cracking bicycle locks, and CCTV footage from several stations revealed that he had committed at least six other bicycle thefts.
"As recently as 2021, he was convicted by the Ghent correctional court for the theft of 14 bicycles," the Public Prosecutor's Office said. "Internationally, he is also known as a serial offender, having accumulated over 25 convictions."
"I have diabetes and have no money to pay for my medication," the suspect explained. "That's why I steal. I hope the court will take my old age into account."
