[EricDJ]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060718/od_nm/germany_compensation_dc;_ylt=Ai9PgXkSppAs7AZmnOGP3.Os0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-

BERLIN (Reuters) - Overcome with remorse at having stolen a bicycle, a thief in Germany wrote the victim a letter and fully recompensed him for the loss, police said Monday.

After the theft in the Bavarian village of Bidingen was reported, police in nearby Marktoberdorf made an appeal in a local paper for any witnesses to the crime to come forward.

Soon afterwards, the victim received an anonymous letter from the thief containing 400 euros ($501.50) in cash -- the exact value of the bicycle according to the police notice.

"The thief also told the man he was sorry he couldn't remember where he'd left the bike," said police spokesman Gerhard Kreis. "He may just have been a thoroughly honest person who saw the error of his ways. You still get them you know."

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[marcm]

Wow.

[BroMax]

If the letter was anonymous, how do they know it was from the thief?

It could have been some person with more money than s/he needs trying to make the world a better place in a slightly eccentric way.

[chephy]

If the letter was anonymous, how do they know it was from the thief? Well, it said "sorry I don't remember where I left your bike". Of course this doesn't mean the author of the letter actually is the thief in question, but then a signature that says "Jon Smith, the man who stole your bicycle" isn't going to prove this either.

[unkchunk]

Hope the police got the exact value of the bike right.