Thief Jumps From Third Floor After Being Forced to Do Squats, Push-Ups and More for Stealing from Gym

An unexpected incident occurred in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar area where a thief was caught by a gym owner who forced him to rigorous workout, leaving him in agony and tears.

He was caught in the act, stealing from the Kutupalong Power Gym Centre in Cox's Bazar, and he was made to undertake challenging exercises, which compelled him to escape through a third-floor window.

A Thief's Unusual Sentence

Rather than involving the police, Abdullah Al Mamun, the gym owner, opted for a more 'muscular' form of justice: a brutal full-body workout. The punishment, which left him in tears, was filmed, posted online, and quickly went viral.

Power Gym KTP shared a video of the punishment on its Facebook page. The caption read, 'A guy came to Power Gym to steal, but caught red-handed, and our kind-hearted owner Abdullah Al Mamun gave him a 'punishment' through workouts. Only at Power Gym—where even thieves are put to fitness training!' In a follow-up post, the gym thanked DBC News Daily for covering the story.

The videos reveal the thief enduring a brutal workout, performing exercises such as squats, bench presses, push-ups, pull-ups, chest presses, and leg presses – often with added weights.

Throughout the ordeal, he was visibly distressed and frequently in tears, at one point tearfully begging to be let go. The workout continued until he was exhausted and on the brink of collapse.

From CCTV to Capture

According to the Bangladesh Guardian, the incident occurred at the Power Gym Centre, situated on the third floor of Boktiar Market in Kutupalong, Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. Mamun stated that on Friday, 27 June, he closed the gym around noon to attend Jummah prayers.

At that time, a thief forced the lock, entered the gym, and quickly made off with the gym's I.P.S., batteries, cables, and other equipment. Returning from prayer, Mamun found the gym in disarray and several items missing. Later, CCTV footage revealed a young man stealing the equipment.

He also mentioned that after identifying the thief in the footage, gym-goers began searching for him. On Wednesday, 9 July, they spotted the thief at Kutupalong market and brought him to the gym.

Mamun explained he wasn't there at the time and had told the gym-goers not to hurt the thief. Instead of beating him, they chose to punish him by making him exercise for about four minutes across various categories, which they recorded.

A Dramatic Escape and Lingering Questions

The thief, at one point, jumped from the third floor of the building onto a tin-roof structure and made his escape. His identity is still unknown, but gym owner Mamun stated he reportedly confessed to being a drug user and stealing to support his addiction.

The desperate escape, driven by addiction, adds a layer of complexity to a story that quickly went from a local crime to a global talking point, prompting many to question where the line should be drawn between punishment and rehabilitation.