A Hong Kong man has stolen a number of items from a Mini 4WD shop which closed for normal business three years ago but remains open to those who have joined the shop’s membership scheme for gatherings.
The suspect stole goods from the shop on several occasions earlier this year, after borrowing the shop’s keys from some of its members, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said during a special press conference yesterday.
According to Lou, the shop’s owner gave a number of key members the shop’s keys so that they could open the shop door any time they wanted, making it more convenient for them to gather and talk in the shop.
When a member took the suspect to the shop in San Kio district the other members thought that the suspect was a fellow member. They later lent the shop’s keys to the suspect when he requested them.
Lou identified the suspect as a 30-year-old surnamed Wong who told the police that he is unemployed. Wong was arrested by the police on Monday.
According to Lou, the shop’s owner reported to the police on March 9 that he had discovered that a number of goods stored in the shop had been stolen on several occasions between late January and early this month. The shop’s owner reported a loss of 92,000 patacas from the stolen goods, comprising Mini 4WDs (powered toy cars equipped with 4WD), parts and accessories, Lou said.
The shop’s owner also told the police that despite the fact that he had closed the shop for business three years ago, he was still storing a large number of goods there as it is still open to members for activities. The shop’s owner also said that he handed the shop’s keys to several close Mini 4WD enthusiasts so that they could open the shop door themselves when they wanted to meet up there, according to Lou.
After scrutinising the police forces’ citywide CCTV camera system and CCTV footage from nearby shops, PJ officers identified Wong as the theft suspect. Wong was arrested on Monday afternoon when he re-entered Macau at the Barrier Gate border checkpoint, Lou said.
Under questioning, Wong admitted to having stolen a number of items from the Mini 4WD shop. Wong told the police that he took part in a number of gatherings in the shop after a member introduced him to other members, according to Lou.
After Wong became close to several Mini 4WD enthusiasts, he asked them to lend him the shop’s keys by claiming that he wanted to enter the shop to look at the Mini 4WDs sometimes. After Wong had borrowed the keys from a member, he opened the shop’s door in the early hours each time and stole a number of Mini 4WDs, parts and accessories, Lou said.
Wong told the police that he kept some of the stolen Mini 4WDs for his own collection and even modified some of them with the stolen parts and accessories. Wong also sold some of the stolen Mini 4WDs on mainland online shopping platforms for about 3,000 patacas in total. He used the ill-gotten money for his daily expenses, according to Lou.
PJ officers seized some of the stolen Mini 4WDs, parts and accessories from Wong’s home in the northern district, Lou said.
Wong has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further questioning, facing an aggravated theft charge.
Stolen Mini 4WD parts and accessories seized from the suspect are displayed in a pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
PJ officers escort the hooded theft suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters yesterday.
