The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two young local men last week for scrawling graffiti in public toilets in two different locations on the peninsula earlier this month, PJ spokesman Cheong Kam Fai said during a regular press conference on Friday.
The first suspect told the police that he loves street graffiti culture so he scrawled graffiti in a public toilet near Rotunda de Carlos da Maia (colloquially known as “Three Lamps”), while the second suspect said that he scrawled graffiti in a public toilet near the St. Paul’s Ruins landmark “just for fun”.
Both are in their twenties. The first suspect surnamed Lou told the police that he works as a salesman, while the second suspect surnamed Lam said that he is unemployed.
According to Cheong, the Public Security Police (PSP) transferred the two cases to the Judiciary Police on March 2 and Monday last week, after the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), which manages the city’s public toilets, reported the two cases to the police, according to which cleaners found graffiti scrawled on the walls of three cubicles in the two public toilets.
According to Cheong, Arabic numerals and English letters were scrawled on the toilet cubicle walls. IAM staff told the police that removing the graffiti would cost 2,500 patacas, Cheong said.
After scrutinising the police forces’ citywide CCTV camera system, PJ officers identified Lou and Lam as the two suspects, Cheong said.
PJ officers went to both suspects’ respective homes on Wednesday last week to take them in for questioning, Cheong said.
Under questioning, both admitted to having scrawled graffiti in each of the two public toilets – Lou in the public toilet in Rua de Manuel de Arriaga, a street near the “Three Lamps” district, and Lam in the public toilet in Calçada de S. Paulo, the road running past the St. Paul’s Ruins landmark. Lou said that he loves street graffiti culture so he scrawled the graffiti in the toilet, while Lam said that he suddenly came up with the idea of writing something in the toilet “just for fun”.
The two men have been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, each facing a charge of causing aggravated damage.
According to Article 207 of the Penal Code, a defendant faces a charge of causing aggravated damage if the damaged property is a public facility. The crime is punishable by up to five years behind bars.
