In an unusual blend of the online and the offline, Skype voice messenger saved a man in northern Novgorod region from death by stabbing, local police said.
The incident took place in the village of Volot, some 450 kilometers northwest of Moscow, a spokesman for regional police said on Monday.
A local resident with a criminal record broke into an acquaintance’s house wielding two knives, the report said.
The robber, whose name was withheld, stabbed the victim several times, including near the heart, and made off with 10,000 rubles ($330) and a mobile phone. He also took care to cut the telephone line, hoping to prevent the injured man from calling for help.
But this is where the Skype came in, as the bleeding victim managed to get online via his computer and alert his son in St. Petersburg about the incident, with the latter promptly calling up the medics and the police.
The victim survived, while the robber was detained and went on trial. He pleaded guilty and faces up to 12 years behind bars and a fine of up to 1 million rubles, or 100 times the size of his loot.
