Important evidence left - his son

Reuter's reports on a Dutch man who made too hasty a getaway—he forgot his son and then tried not to go back for him.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A shoplifter looking to make a quick getaway from a Dutch supermarket after stealing a packet of meat left police a crucial piece of evidence—his 12-year-old son.

In his haste the 45-year-old thief made a solo dash to his car, batting away a supermarket worker who had flung himself on the vehicles' bonnet in a bid to stop the escape.

Police in the southern Dutch town of Kerkrade said they managed to contact the thief via the boy, but he had refused to return and collect his son. The man told officers to get hold of the youngster's mother instead.

The thief later turned himself in Thursday, a police spokeswoman said.

If you are going to use the Jean Valjean defense (I had hungry children to feed), then it's best not to try to foist your kid off on the Mom in order to avoid arrest.