Four men were sentenced to 11 years in prison each for beating a guard, transporting him in the trunk of a car and abandoning him outside a village at a temperature of -24°C. It happened after the victim caught them stealing sunflower seeds from a warehouse in Petreni village of Drochia district, IPN reports.

The culprits are from Drochia district. A year ago, they went to steal sunflower seeds from a warehouse in Petreni. As the guard caught them, the men stripped this of his mobile phone, tied his hands and feet, put his jacket around his head and took him away in the trunk of a car. They later left him outside the village, at a temperature of -24°C at night. The victim managed to free himself and called an ambulance, notifying later the police.

Shortly afterward, the four men were identified and detained. They were accused of robbery committed with particular cruelty and kidnapping of a person and were remanded in custody. The sentence passed by the Drochia Court will be served in a semi-closed prison.

The sentence is not final and can be appealed to the Balti Court of Appeals.