Two men have been arrested for separate involvement in the theft of a bicycle worth 4,200 patacas in Ilha Verde district, with one of them also accused of damaging its lock, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon said at yesterday’s regular press conference.
According to Wong, the victim, a mainland Chinese non-resident worker (NRW), parked and locked his bicycle on Avenida do Conselheiro Borja (青洲大馬路) at around 9:00 p.m. on October 26. When he returned at around 11:00 p.m., his bicycle had vanished, so he reported the theft to the police.
After reviewing CCTV footage from the city’s surveillance system and nearby shops, officers confirmed that a man had approached the bicycle at around 10:18 p.m. Afterwards, another man was seen carrying it away at around 10:30 p.m.
Police arrested the two suspects in the afternoon on Tuesday. They were identified as a local man surnamed Cheong, in his 70s, and a Filipino NRW in his 40s. Wong spelt the latter’s surname as Tabpac.
Investigations revealed that Cheong had removed the bicycle’s saddle, while Tabpac had carried the bicycle to his residence and used tools to break its lock, which was worth about 100 patacas.
Both suspects claimed that they had mistakenly believed the bicycle had been abandoned.
The case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP).
Cheong faces a theft charge, while Tabpac faces charges of theft and property damage.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the two bicyle theft suspects to a police station.
