A man on a motorbike came behind women and snatched their handbags on three occasions within 15 minutes on Saturday night in an area near JR Omiya Station in Saitama city, police said Sunday. The man got away with around 80,000 yen, police said.

According to police, in the third incident, a 29-year-old woman was walking home at around 11:30 p.m. when the man rode up behind and yanked her handbag, containing 50,000 yen, from her shoulder, Fuji TV reported. The empty handbag was found discarded about 50 meters away.

The woman was shaken by the incident but not hurt, police said.

Police said two similar incidents occurred 15 minutes earlier within a two-kilometer radius. In the first incident, at 11:15 p.m., a 19-year-old woman riding a bicycle had her bag stolen from the basket on her bike, and in the second incident, the victim was a 33-year-old woman, also riding a bicycle. The three women described the man on the motorbike as being dressed all in black.

Police are examining street surveillance camera to try and identify the bike license plate.

Source: ANNnewsCH