A local man was arrested on Monday for stealing cash from two male non-resident workers (NRWs), Public Security Police (PSP) spokeswoman Cheong Im Sim said at a regular press conference held yesterday.
It was the fourth time that he was arrested for stealing.
The suspect surnamed Chio is a 65-year-old man who is jobless.
According to Cheong, the police received reports from two non-resident workers on December 25 and January 10 respectively that they had separately lost cash in two shops in Tamagnini Barbosa(台山) and Portas do Cero(關閘), and when both returned to the respective locations the money had vanished. The police checked the CCTV footage in the shops and identified Chio as the suspect. Chio was intercepted in Avenida de Artur Tamagnini Barbos(巴波沙大馬路) on Monday.
Under questioning, Chio admitted to pickpocketing 20,000 patacas and 4,000 patacas respectively from the pocket and crossbody bag of the two victims, and claimed that he had meanwhile spent all the stolen money. The suspect was arrested on three previous occasions for theft, according to Cheong.
The suspect was transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) yesterday. Chio is facing aggravated theft charges.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows a PSP officer escorting the suspected thief to a police station.
