A knife-wielding thief had a change of heart mid-way through a robbery and decided to return the money he took from the victim.

In an incident that took place at an ATM in southern China’s Guangdong province, the woman had withdrawn 2,500 yuan (around Rs 26,000) when the robber approached her and demanded she give him the money. According to the South China Morning Post, he then asked to see her bank balance – perhaps to check if her could get her to withdraw some more money and hand it over to him – only to discover that she was left with no money in her account.

CCTV footage then showed him returning the money sheepishly, apparently feeling bad for her. But that did not protect him from the law, with the police identifying him and detaining him.