A mainland man was arrested yesterday morning for robbing a woman of nearly 100,000 patacas in cash and gambling chips in Avenida 24 de Junho earlier in the day, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Lam Keong said at a press briefing yesterday.
The suspect surnamed Jiang who is in his forties holds an Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (colloquially known as two-way permit). Lam said the suspect entered Macau from the mainland at around 8 a.m. yesterday. The victim is a woman in her fifties who also holds a two-way permit.
According to Lam, a woman told the police at 10:06 a.m. yesterday that a man had suddenly punched her in the chest when she was walking along Avenida 24 de Junho near Encore at Wynn. When she fell to the ground, the man snatched her clutch bag which contained 6,100 yuan (7,500 patacas) and HK$43,000 in cash as well as casino chips worth HK$47,000, resulting in a loss of nearly 100,000 patacas.
Thanks to nearby CCTV footage, PSP officers identified Jiang as the suspect and discovered that he ran towards Macau Landmark after the robbery. The officers then found Jiang, who was barefoot, in Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues at 10:11 a.m. When the officers chased after Jiang, he tried to catch a taxi but failed. The officers arrested Jiang in Rua da Encosta. Under questioning, Jiang admitted that he robbed the woman’s bag, took the cash and then threw the bag away in a hotel’s service entrance near Avenida da Amizade. Jiang claimed that he went to a casino yesterday morning where he gambled away all his money. He then came up with the idea of robbing someone to raise cash. PSP officers later retrieved the victim’s bag as well as the casino chips left in the bag, Lam said.
Jiang will be transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) today, facing a robbery charge, according to Lam.
Evidence seized from the robbery suspect such as yuan notes, Hong Kong dollar notes, casino chips and a clutch bag is displayed at the Public Security Police (PSP) press room yesterday. Photo: Camy Tam
This handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers subduing the robbery suspect in Rua da Encosta yesterday morning.
