Woman Talks Down Armed Robber

[Mulboyne]

Telegraph: Japanese mother overcomes thief with tea and sympathy
A Japanese woman and her six-month-old daughter escaped unharmed from an armed robber after the mother calmed him with a cup of tea and a chat. A middle-aged man allegedly pulled a knife and demanded money from the 30-year-old woman as she was walking along a corridor in her Tokyo apartment building with her baby, a Tokyo police official said. When the housewife told him she had no money, the man followed her home and barged into her flat. But rather than screaming, the woman calmly made the would-be robber a cup of tea and sat down with him for a chat, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his troubled life, detailing his financial woes. Police said the woman then gave the man 10,000 yen and left a wallet with a further 30,000 yen on the table and fled outside to call the police from a nearby public phone when the man was looking the other way. When she returned to the flat with police, the man was gone. Police said the woman told investigators that she couldn't believe how she could act so calmly and bravely. But police aren't recommending the tea defence for everyone. "I think she was very lucky," the official said. "The suspect might have eased up because of the baby's presence. I don't think serving tea always works with robbers."

[Midwinter]

Telegraph: Japanese mother overcomes thief with tea and sympathy
A Japanese woman and her six-month-old daughter escaped unharmed from an armed robber after the mother calmed him with a cup of tea and a chat. A middle-aged man allegedly pulled a knife and demanded money from the 30-year-old woman as she was walking along a corridor in her Tokyo apartment building with her baby, a Tokyo police official said. When the housewife told him she had no money, the man followed her home and barged into her flat. But rather than screaming, the woman calmly made the would-be robber a cup of tea and sat down with him for a chat, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his troubled life, detailing his financial woes. Police said the woman then gave the man 10,000 yen and left a wallet with a further 30,000 yen on the table and fled outside to call the police from a nearby public phone when the man was looking the other way. When she returned to the flat with police, the man was gone. Police said the woman told investigators that she couldn't believe how she could act so calmly and bravely. But police aren't recommending the tea defence for everyone. "I think she was very lucky," the official said. "The suspect might have eased up because of the baby's presence. I don't think serving tea always works with robbers."

How very... British?

[NoCityHeadAche]

How very... British?

I could almost hear a rimshot after reading this.