Australia’s ‘bicycle bandit’ gets 35 years

AFP | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An Australian bank robber known as the “bicycle bandit” got a 35-year jail sentence Monday -- though he reportedly has advanced cancer and is seeking an imminent voluntary assisted death.

Kym Allen Parsons, 73, admitted to a string of aggravated robbery charges, documents from the South Australian Supreme Court in Adelaide showed. Parsons earned his moniker for fleeing some of his holdups on a bicycle.

On Monday, Justice Sandi McDonald ordered him to serve 35 years, with a minimum period of 28 years before being eligible for parole, court papers showed.

Parsons’ lawyers revealed last week that he was seeking a voluntary assisted death and wanted to be sentenced beforehand, according to a transcript of that hearing provided to AFP.

He carried out the robberies over a decade until 2014, often brandishing a rifle and wearing a balaclava or motorcycle helmet, according to public broadcaster ABC.

He reportedly got away with more than Aus$350,000 (US$230,000). The robber now has advanced cancer, according to the ABC.

“Your conduct is morally reprehensible,” Judge Sandi McDonald was quoted as saying.

The judge reportedly said Parsons had contracted cancer through his 33-year career as a firefighter, adding: “Your prognosis is poor -- you will die in prison.”