AMSTERDAM — Police in the east of Amsterdam detained a 43-year-old female motorist on Monday night after she killed a thief who stole her bag.

The 19-year-old victim was riding on a moped with a friend when they stopped beside the woman's car and opened the door to steal her bag. The thieves then tried to escape, but the woman reversed her car to cut them off, colliding with the scooter.

After the collision, the car continued moving due to an "unknown" cause and the 19-year-old was wedged in between the car and a tree. He died at the scene. The woman was then taken to the local police station for questioning, but police suspect the death was a "tragic accident", news service NOS reported.

Police sealed the scene off on the Derde Oosterparkstraat, but a group of male youths tried to get to the victim and started yelling and screaming.

The scene of the man's death was close to where filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered, allegedly by a Moroccan man, on 2 November last year. But this time the victim was a Moroccan and residents have accused the woman of murder.

The youth's intensely upset father also arrived on the scene, but two residents and police managed to calm the crowd down before it escalated out of control. The father was taken to the police station and given counseling by a crisis team.

Investigations are now being conducted to determine whether the woman caused the accident intentionally, constituting a criminal offence. The woman was still being detained on Tuesday.

The second youth escaped the scene and is being sought by police. But two males aged 15 and 16 were arrested later that night after being linked to the scooter used in the theft. The youths are suspected of being involved in other thefts that have taken place in the district in recent weeks.

Motorist denies killing thief on purpose

19 January 2005

AMSTERDAM — The 43-year-old woman arrested following the death of a 19-year-old bag snatcher killed when he became wedged between her car and a tree in Amsterdam on Monday has denied intentionally killing him, her lawyer has said.

The death teen, identified as Ali B. of Moroccan descent, was riding on a moped with a friend when they stopped beside the woman's car at about 6.30pm and opened the door to steal her bag. They then tried to escape, but the woman reversed her car to cut them off, colliding with the scooter on the Derde Oosterparkstraat.

The Opel Vectra car wedged the 19-year-old up against a tree and he died at the scene. The woman was then taken to the

local police station for questioning. Police believe the death was a "tragic accident", but investigations into the incident continue.

Lawyer P.A. van der Waal said his client — who is being held on suspicion of manslaughter — only wanted to pursue the suspects to get her bag back. He said the woman put her car in reverse to try and tell the thieves that there was nothing of value in her bag.

The woman is the mother of two children and is very shaken by the incident. "She thinks it is terrible for the boy and his parents. She very much wants to personally explain to the parents how this could have happened," Van der Waal told newspaper De Telegraaf.

He said the woman had not even noticed she had collided with the scooter. When the car hit the tree, she set out in pursuit of the second thief. But giving up the chase, she then turned around and saw the other thief wedged against the tree, the lawyer said.

"It was absolutely not her intention to injure the street robbers by, for example, colliding with them," Van der Waal said.

The woman was interviewed at length by police on Tuesday and a spokesman told the newspaper that it remains unclear how the car collided with the scooter. It is hoped that the second thief will report to police to give his account of the incident. Justice officials will decided on Wednesday if the woman is to appear in court.

Meanwhile, heated discussion has opened up in Amsterdam East, with some Moroccans in the area claiming that B.'s death was murder. Soon after the incident, youths started yelling and screaming at the scene and the situation threatened to get out of hand as they tried to cross police lines to get at the victim.

The boy's father also arrived and was clearly distressed. He was later taken away by police and offered counselling assistance from a crisis team and tensions at the scene of his son's death started to ease.

Discussion continues to rage in the district and on internet forums about whether the death was an accident or murder. Some people have said that the victim was to blame by setting events in motion by taking the bag.

Feelings are running particularly high between the native Dutch and immigrant communities, particularly in light of the fact the incident occurred just 50m from the spot where filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered last November, allegedly by a Islamic militant with Dutch and Moroccan nationality.

I sent an email to Expatica. Received an email in reply from author of original posted article:

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write to Expatica on this matter.

There is no denying that the woman was the victim as her bag was stolen. By the same token, one of the thieves was killed in a tragic accident, so he too was a victim - albeit one could say he brought the situation on himself by engaging in the crime.

The woman, a mother of two children, has made clear (by Tuesday evening Dutch time) that she did not intend to kill the guy. She is very upset about inadvertently being the cause of taking a human life and feels sorry for his relatives.

She says she was reversing her car to drive after the thieves to shout at them that there was nothing of value in the bag.

But at the end of the day, everyone hearing about the case will make their own judgement about who was a victim in this and who was not.

Regards,
Cormac

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