A 34-year-old thief who snatched a schoolgirl’s bag in the capital’s Russey Keo district paid a heavy price for it on Monday.

Police said the man rode alongside the girl as she walked home from school and swiped at her bag as he passed, only to instead crash to the ground.

The crash failed to inspire sympathy from a gathering crowd who quickly swarmed the man and beat him viciously before police arrived. He’s now recovering in hospital before being sent to police HQ. KOH SANTEPHEAP