IRELAND: A man who stole money from a Galway theatre appears to have deliberately left a bucketful of cash which had been collected for the Asian tsunami disaster.
The thief, armed with a knife and with his face covered, staged the hold-up at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway where the annual Renmore pantomime is running.
He entered the premises half an hour before the evening performance of Aladdin was about to begin on Monday night, threatening staff with a knife at the box office before running off with an undisclosed amount of money.
The thief walked past a bucketful of cash in reception, which was being collected for the victims of the Asian tsunami, on his way to the box office. He again ignored the cash as he left the premises.
Theatre-goers had been contributing to a draw for the victims of the Asian disaster that evening as well as at an earlier sell-out matinee.
"He definitely saw the cash in the bucket but once he saw the posters around it and what it was for, I think he decided it was better leaving it alone," said one witness.
"It was very frightening and he was very threatening. There were children in the reception area. I think some of them thought it was part of the pantomime but the guy was gone in seconds."
Gardaí at Mill Street are investigating the raid and can be contacted on 091-563161.
