Mugger in Germany foiled by blind judo expert

BERLIN (Reuters) - A blind judo expert astounded a mugger by pinning him to the ground after he tried to steal his cigarettes, police said on Monday.

The assailant, a 17-year-old man of Asian origin, spotted the 33-year-old, who police identified only as Emil E., at a train station in the southwestern town of Giessen and thought he would be easy prey, police spokesman Rolf Wellershausen said.

But what the attacker did not know, the spokesman said, was that his victim was a world-class blind judo wrestler.

The 17-year-old threatened the blind man, then punched him in the face, at which point the martial artist flipped him and held him down until police arrived.