A would-be pickpocket failed to steal an elderly man's cellphone on Wednesday, because he had chained it to his waist, reports Liaoshen Evening News.

The 63-year-old Zhang fixed a chain to his new cellphone and attached it to his belt after losing his first mobile a few days after purchasing it. On Wednesday morning as Zhang entered the Wu'ai Market in Shenyang, he found himself stopped short and then being dragged from behind.

Glancing back, Zhang saw that the other end of the cellphone chain was in the pocket of a frightened woman looking back at him.

But when Zhang tried to grab the woman, she tossed the cellphone away and ran off.

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