Man seeks retrial in theft of 175,000 yuan from ATM

Xu Ting, who served five years in prison for withdrawing 175,000 yuan ($28,536) from a malfunctioning ATM, has filed a lawsuit in the Guangdong High People’s Court that seeks a rehearing of his case.

“I am innocent as I never intended to withdraw the large sum of money from the ATM at that time,” said Xu, 30, a migrant worker from Linfen, Shanxi province, after he presented evidence to the court last week.

Xu was sentenced to life after his first trial, in 2006. His sentence was reduced to five years after a retrial in Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in 2008.

Xu was also fined 20,000 yuan by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court and ordered to return the “illegally obtained” money.

The Guangdong High People’s Court upheld the verdict after Xu appealed.

Xu was freed from prison ahead of schedule last year.

Xu, then a security guard in Guangzhou, went to an ATM on April 21, 2006, to withdraw money. But his account was debited only 1 yuan for every 1,000 yuan he withdrew. Xu subsequently took out 175,000 yuan in 171 transactions.

After his crime was discovered, he was on the run for a year before he was caught and sentenced on Nov 20, 2008, to life for theft.

The Guangdong High People’s Court has not yet decided whether to accept the case.