Man sentenced to 3 years, 10 months for attempted robbery over cookies with non-functional air gun

A dispute over purchasing cookies escalated into an attempted robbery in Taiwan, resulting in a 3-year and 10-month prison sentence for the perpetrator. The incident occurred when a man, identified as Mr. Huang, became enraged at a convenience store after being told he could not buy individual cookies from a package.

According to reports, Huang initially shouted and kicked the counter. After being escorted out by a store employee, he returned with a black handgun concealed behind his back. He pointed the weapon at the clerk, demanding 10,000 New Taiwan dollars. When the clerk, visibly frightened, bowed and apologized, Huang lowered his demand to 5,000 dollars, threatening to shoot if his demands were not met.

Huang left without obtaining any money. Police later recovered the weapon, which was identified as an air gun. A forensic examination revealed that the air gun had a severe leak, rendering it incapable of firing projectiles and thus lacking lethal force. However, the court determined that the air gun, weighing 873 grams and being difficult to disassemble, objectively resembled a firearm and posed a potential threat, classifying it as a "deadly weapon" under the law.

The Tainan District Court convicted Huang of public insult and intimidation for the initial dispute, sentencing him to 60 days of detention, which could be commuted to a fine. For the attempted robbery using the air gun, he received the 3-year and 10-month sentence. The air gun was confiscated.