Egyptian man to face trial after live-streaming theft of phone

Egyptian prosecutors have ordered a man to face trial after he appeared to steal a journalist's phone while it was livestreaming outside the country's capital of Cairo.

The country's public prosecutor said on Wednesday that the man, who was caught on video grabbing the phone out of the journalist's hands while riding on a motorbike and taking off with it, would be referred to the country's criminal court.

It added that the man was also riding an unmarked motorcycle and was driving in the opposite direction of traffic.

The news has gone viral in Egypt, viewed where the livestream was viewed with a mixture of comedy and satisfaction that the man seemed to have been caught in the act. Theft by motorbike is not uncommon in Egypt's capital.

After the theft, the stolen phone livestreamed the driver of the motorcycle smoking a cigarette as he drives along a highway.

The journalist, a correspondent for a local Egyptian paper Al-Youm Al-Sabaa, had been reporting on the slight shaking that was felt in the northern Egyptian during an earthquake.

Mahmoud Ragheb, who typically covers the Qaloubyia province for the newspaper and website, said he first tried to chase the man on the motorcycle before checking whether the livestream was still running, to see his identity.

He said he recognised him as a man who had driven past him just a couple of minutes before.

"I was in a daze," he said.

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Turkish Mediterranean coast on Tuesday, which was also felt in Egypt and other Mediterranean countries.