Typically, you would expect that if a person was sold on committing a crime, they would actually follow through. However, it seems as though one man was overcome with piety - or more likely stupidity - after he stole a cross from a church in Valais, and then left the stolen good in a nightclub.

Man in Switzerland steals cross in nighttime drunken raid

According to the emergency services, on the night of November 11, a man entered the local parish church in Martigny, Canton Valais. The suspect, who 20 minuten described as “inebriated”, decided to take a tour of the historical site, moving various objects and at one point opening the church organ.

However, his drunken tour quickly turned into a robbery, after he took a cross that was placed on the church altar. Upon discovering the blasphemous theft, the resident pastor called the local police, who quickly began searching for the suspect.

Drunken man soon loses faith in the crime

Luckily, it did not take long for officers to find the man, who immediately confessed to the crime. What’s more, it seems he may have lost faith in his actions, as the cross he stole was found in a local nightclub, completely abandoned, just a day later. The events in the nightclub after he stole the cross, for both the Swiss media (and most likely the suspect), remain blurred.

The cross he stole is now back in its rightful place in the church, and the pastor did not press charges against the man. However, the 32-year-old may not be out of the woods just yet, as his case has now been referred to the public prosecutor by police.