A local man picked up a purse that a woman accidentally dropped onto the ground when getting out of a taxi in Nam Van on New Year’s Eve and did not report that he had found it to the police, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon said at a regular press conference on Monday.
Wong identified the suspect as a 40-year-old surnamed Chan who told the police that he works as a customer service representative.
The woman got out of the taxi in Avenida da Praia Grande on New Year’s Eve at the end of her journey. Later she found that her purse, worth 4,000 patacas, had vanished and believed that she had accidentally dropped it when getting out of the taxi. She reported the case to the police.
After scrutinising the police forces’ citywide CCTV camera system, PSP officers confirmed that Chan walked past the scene and then picked up the purse soon after the woman had left.
According to Wong, Chan used the two Macau Pass cards in the woman’s purse on the same day when he picked it up, involving two transactions amounting to over 100 patacas. Wong did not say whether the purse contained any cash.
According to Wong, PSP officers located Chan last Wednesday near Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre. He admitted to picking up the purse “on a greedy impulse”. He told the police that he had thrown the wallet into a rubbish bin in the street.
Chan has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, facing a theft-by-finding charge. According to Article 200 of the Macau Penal Code, the suspect faces up to one year in prison or a fine.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Monday shows two PSP officers escorting the theft-by-finding suspect to a police station.
