The Public Security Police (PSP) arrested a man from the Chinese mainland on Saturday for stealing two smartphones worth 18,000 yuan (20,000 patacas) in total from two female tourists, PSP spokeswoman Cheong Im Sim said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspect as a construction worker in his forties surnamed Xie.
According to Cheong, the police received a report in November from two female tourists from the Chinese mainland, who said that while taking photos of the hotel scenery near the pavement in Cotai, they placed two smartphones in a handbag and put the bag down on the ground. After finishing their photo session and checking the bag, they discovered that both phones had vanished. Suspecting someone had stolen the phones, they immediately reported a total loss of 18,000 yuan to the police.
Through their citywide CCTV surveillance footage, the police identified Xie as the suspect and apprehended him on Saturday when he was re-entering Macau through the Barrier Gate checkpoint. Under questioning, Xie refused to cooperate.
Xie has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a theft charge.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the theft suspect into a police station.
