The Public Security Police (PSP) separately apprehended a local woman and a mainland man on Thursday for theft by finding, PSP spokesman Wong Chi Weng said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Wong identified the local suspect as a cleaner in her sixties, surnamed Sou, and the mainland suspect as a real estate agent in his forties, surnamed Zhang.
According to Wong, the Public Security Police (PSP) received a report on October 4 from a female non-resident worker (NRW) who said that while arranging her backpack on Rua do Mercado de Iao Hon (市場街), she accidentally lost her wallet, which contained her ID card and 6,700 patacas in cash. Suspecting that someone might have picked it up, she immediately reported the case to the police. Later, the police confirmed that the wallet had actually been dropped by her on Estrada dos Cavaleiros (騎士馬路).
Wong noted that the police received another report on July 21 from a male mainland tourist who said that after taking a taxi to Avenida da Nave Desportiva (體育館大馬路) in Taipa, he discovered that he had left his smartphone, valued at 10,300 patacas, in the cab. Suspecting someone had stolen it, he immediately reported the case to the police.
Wong noted that through citywide CCTV surveillance footage, the police identified Sou and Zhang as the suspects and apprehended them separately on Thursday near Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (新馬路) and at Hengqin Port (border checkpoint) respectively.
Under questioning, Sou and Zhang admitted to stealing the wallet and the smartphone out of greed. Sou handed the stolen wallet, which she had kept at her flat, to the police after her arrest, after which the police returned it to the victim. Zhang claimed that he had taken the smartphone to the Chinese mainland where he sold it for 1,200 yuan.
Sou and Zhang have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), each facing a charge of theft by finding.
Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Chi Weng looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
