A male mainlander was arrested on Monday for stealing 7,700 patacas from a church’s donation box, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a special press conference yesterday.
The 29-year-old suspect surnamed Yu told the police that he works as a hawker.
According to Ho, a person-in-charge of a church in the city centre reported to the police on Sunday that 7,700 patacas had vanished from a donation box. When scrutinising the church’s CCTV footage, PJ officers discovered that two men had entered the church on that day, telling the clergy that they would like to donate.
They put double-sided packaging tape on a retractable metal tape measure and inserted it through the opening of the donation box to steal several cash-filled envelopes.
Ho said the money was kept in envelopes with the amount of money written on each envelope. The person-in-charge of the church thought that the two men looked suspicious and later checked with three donors to confirm the amount they donated. After confirming the amount of the loss, the person reported the case to the police, according to Ho, who did not identify the church.
Thanks to CCTV footage, PJ officers identified and located the two suspects who were staying at a hostel in the city centre.
PJ officers put the area under surveillance on Monday and arrested Yu when he returned to the hostel in the evening. Yu claimed that he only acted as the lookout while his accomplice was stealing the money. Yu also claimed that his accomplice had kept the stolen money.
The officers searched Yu’s guestroom and seized the clothes Yu wore on the day the theft was committed. They also seized several “modified” theft tools including a retractable metal tape measure and a double-sided packaging tape.
Ho said that Yu and his accomplice arrived in Macau on Christmas Eve, and PJ officers believe that it’s the first time that the duo committed a crime in Macau. Judiciary Police are continuing their investigation to trace the whereabouts of the stolen money and Yu’s accomplice who was still on the run at the time of the press conference.
Yu was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing an aggravated theft charge, according to Ho.
The hooded theft suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters to a vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the suspect such as the clothes he wore when committing the crime, a retractable metal tape measure and a double-sided packaging tape are displayed during yesterday’s special press conference at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters.
