The China Mail - Kardashian robbery suspect says heist was one 'too many'

Yunice Abbas, 71, says he remained in a Paris hotel lobby on the lookout while two other suspects in the night of October 2-3, 2016 stormed into her room, tied her up and made away with some $10 million worth of her jewels.

But Abbas has sought to capitalise on the crime by publishing his version of events in a 2021 book titled "I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian".

A prosecutor held up a copy of the book in court, and the presiding judge asked the author why he had bragged about the theft.

Sitting in the dock in a short-sleeved check shirt, Abbas shook his head vigorously from left to right.

"It makes me very uneasy," said the short bald man, adding he "totally regretted" taking part in the theft.

Abbas has said he arrived at the scene of the robbery on a bicycle then left by the same means, dropping a bag of loot as he fled.

He picked it up but missed a diamond necklace, the only item that police were able to retrieve from the holdup.

Abbas told the hearing stealing from Kardashian was the one job "too many" that "opened his eyes" to his wrongdoing.

The defendant, who now has Parkinson's disease, held his right hand over his left placed on his heart throughout the court session. He said it was to stop it from racing when he became anxious.

The presiding judge on Tuesday reviewed the accused's criminal past.

He listed, among others, a conviction for fake number plates for carrying out robberies, another for equipping cars with secret compartments to hide cannabis, and a third for armed robbery in which Abbas held a gun.

In between, he worked as a car mechanic, working for others or re-opening a closed workshop.

- 'Easy shortcuts' -

Abbas explained that he had "moments of weakness" when he needed money.

"I fell back on things that I thought were easy shortcuts but only ended up complicating my life," he said.

Abbas, like all other nine defendants, is not in custody.

He said one of his neighbours had joked on Monday night, after he returned home following the first day of the trial, that the court had effectively already freed him.

His lawyer asked him if he would however be prepared to be punished if found guilty.

"You're never ready. But of course, there'll be a price to pay," he said.

Kardashian, 44, is due to testify on May 13 in a highly anticipated appearance.

Those on trial -- nine men and a woman -- are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records and underworld nicknames like "Old Omar" and "Blue Eyes".

But the lawyer for one of the victims on Monday was eager to dispel the image of "kind old men" on trial for the robbery during Paris Fashion Week.

Henri de Beauregard, who represents the night receptionist forced to accompany the robbers to Kardashian's room, said the public needed not to fall for the "myth of friendly, Robin Hood-style pensioners".

E.Choi--ThChM