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Watch a brazen phone thief get taken down with a flying kick

Sometimes, criminals get exactly what they deserve, as this cheeky smartphone thief definitely found out after grabbing a phone from an unsuspecting truck driver in Guangdong, China. Check out this incredible footage, that appears to have been taken from closed circuit TV cameras, showing the thief on his getaway scooter being confronted by the angry truck driver, who performs a flying, martial arts-style takedown to recover his phone.

The opportunistic thief snatched the smartphone from the truck’s cab, apparently when the driver was actually using the device to make a call, unaware he was taking it from someone who wasn’t prepared to lose his phone that day. The thief calmly puts the phone to his ear before hanging up the call, and gets on his scooter to make his getaway.

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The events leading up to what happens next are a little unclear. Some reports say the truck driver spotted the thief riding past later in the day, but reconstructions suggest it was only moments later, as the scooter rode past on the other side of the road. Whichever it is, the result is the same, and it’s not good for the thief.

Completely without fear, the truck driver runs into the road and stands in front of the rapidly approaching scooter. At the last minute, he rushes towards the bike, uses the front of it as a launchpad, and the thief gets a leg in the face, sending him, the bike, and the truck driver crashing to the ground. After dispensing some more “justice,” the truck driver snatches back his phone. The criminal, knowing he stole from the wrong person, pulls himself up and rides off in the opposite direction.

Additional video shows that the truck driver, now reunited with his phone, sustained only a few cuts and bruises from the incident. However, this video should come with a “don’t try this at home” warning, as every aspect had a chance of going very wrong for the truck driver, including confronting a thief in the first place.

That doesn’t change the feeling of satisfaction we all get from seeing a cowardly smartphone thief get his comeuppance in such a spectacular way.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
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