British police have arrested a 21-year-old man on charges he pretended to help an injured man but then stole his PlayStation Portable game machine.
The horrific robbery, which took place during the rioting in London, was caught on video and posted online for the world to see. In it, Malaysian student Ashraf Haziq Rossli is seen bleeding and dazed after being attacked by a gang of rioters who took his bike and broke his jaw.
The video shows several young men who seem to come to Rossli's aid, but then begin rifling through his backpack while he's too dazed to stop them. One man then struts off with Rossli's PSP game machine as well as his mobile phone.
Metropolitan Police say that man is 21-year-old Reece Donovan. Donovan has now been arrested and charged with robbery.
In a remarkable bit of forgiveness, Rossli has said he simply feels sorry for his attackers. (Which is more than most of us who have watched that video can say.) Rossli also says he plans to stay in the UK and finish his studies.
Meanwhile, well-wishers have pledged more than 22,000 British pounds ($36,000) in donations to help pay for Rossli's medical bills and perhaps a visit from his mother. And Sony has offered to replace Rossli's stolen PSP while Namco Bandai has offered to send him some games for the machine.
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a "happy ending," but in this sad story, it's probably as close to it as we'll get.
For more game and tech news, check out the following:
- UK cops will find you, and they will shame you ... digitally
- Citizen cameras capture more London looters than cops
- 'Call of Duty Elite' calls on director Ridley Scott
- Down but not out: Nintendo shoots for 3DS comeback
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+.And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.