Police in Russia's Bashkortostan region detained a man who stole a piece of meat from a woman he was visiting on a date, then sold it to a passerby on his way home, the region's Ministry of Internal Affairs said, according to Lenta.ru.
The incident took place in Beloretsk, a town in Bashkortostan, a republic in Russia's southern Ural Mountains. The man visited the woman's home for a date, and the pair spent the evening talking and drinking, the ministry said.
Bashkortostan, whose capital is Ufa, is one of Russia's federal republics and is known for its oil industry and large ethnic Bashkir population. Ufa lies east of Moscow.
After the woman fell asleep, the man went to her freezer and found a 3.5-kilogram piece of meat inside. He packed it into a bag and left her apartment.
On his way home, he sold the meat to a passerby for 1,500 rubles. He then used the money to buy alcohol, which he drank immediately, saying it was to lift his mood, according to police.
Criminal Case Opened
Police tracked down and detained the man shortly afterward. Authorities opened a criminal case against him under Article 158 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers theft. He admitted guilt and expressed remorse, police said. Authorities did not disclose what sentence prosecutors are seeking in the case.
In Russia, theft below a certain value threshold is typically treated as a minor administrative offense, while cases above that threshold, such as this one, are prosecuted under the criminal code. Penalties under Article 158 vary depending on the value of the property taken and the circumstances of the offense, ranging from fines to prison sentences.
In a separate case, police in Russia's Khabarovsk Krai region, in the country's Far East, earlier detained a foreign national accused of stealing gold worth 4.2 million rubles, according to reports.
