The Netherlands: To Catch a Thief

• Share

At around 4 p.m. on a quiet Sunday, Ria Lubbers glanced out of her Rotterdam house and saw that two men had smashed the window of her car and were trying to rip out the radio. When Ria shouted, the burglars loosed a stream of obscenities and walked off. At that point, two people rushed to Ria's aid: one of her sons and her husband Ruud, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

The Lubbers men jumped into Ria's car and pursued the vandals to the local golf course, where they continued the chase on foot until they cornered the pair. The Prime Minister was so angry that he seemed ready to beat up the suspects on the spot. But his son urged prudence, and the two stood by impatiently as they waited for the police to arrive and make the arrest.