A local Filipino picked up a smartphone left by a local woman on a bench near Rua do Campo last week and did not report that he had found it to the police, Public Security Police (PSP) spokeswoman Lai In Hong said in a regular press conference on Monday.
Lai identified the suspect as a 60-year-old electrician surnamed Menoy.
The woman, a student, chatted with a friend on the bench last Tuesday afternoon. After leaving, she realised that she had left her smartphone, worth 2,000 patacas, there. She returned to the bench but her phone had vanished, Lai said.
The woman rang her phone’s number but no one picked up the call, suspecting that her phone had been stolen, Lai said. She reported the case to the police.
After scrutinising the police forces’ citywide CCTV camera system, PSP officers confirmed that the Filipino walked past the bench and picked up the mobile phone four minutes after the woman had left.
According to Lai, PSP officers found the Filipino last Friday near the crime scene. He admitted to picking up the phone “on a greedy impulse.” His case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) where he faces a theft-by-finding charge.
