A woman who was trying to extricate herself from a botched handbag robbery used the only defense at hand - an apology.

Liu, a resident in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, was eating lunch at a small restaurant in the city on Monday when she caught a woman attempting to steal her handbag. The woman immediately apologized, saying she had made a mistake.

Police took her back to the station, where the woman admitted that she wanted money to pay for drugs.

Editor: Carolyn