It took me a few seconds to register, I thought he was with the 4 girls. When my brain eventually engaged I realised that he was dipping his hand into her handbag which she was carrying over her shoulder. I can still picture the handbag clearly, a nice thick green leather bag with a top zip.
It didn’t take me long to decide what I was going to do. I grabbed him by the collar, yanked him back and shouted “thief!” hoping the girls could understand English. He was young, about 20, short and dark-skinned. It surprised me that he didn’t struggle. I was holding him tightly by the collar of his hoodie but it would have been easy to wriggle free. Perhaps it was because I was a foreigner and quite a bit bigger than him, but he just stood there and proclaimed his innocence (well that’s what I assumed he was saying).
The girls had stopped and turned round by now. I demonstrated the dipping action to the intended victim and told the girl to check her handbag for her phone. She found it and held it tight. the other girls checked theirs too.
A small group of apssers-by had stopped by now to watch the action. I decided to search his pockets. So still holding him by the collar with my right hand I searched his pockets with my left. All I could find was a pack of fags in his hoodie and a mobile phone in his front jeans pocket. Because he stood still and let me rifle through his pockets I assumed that the phone he had was his. I pushed him away and suggested he “go forth and procreate”.
Super Woman is alive a well in Shanghai.