Eight local schoolboys were caught for stealing valuables kept in the helmet boxes of three motorcycles, involving a total loss worth over 4,000 patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at a press conference yesterday.
The eight boys aged between 12 and 16 study in two secondary schools in the northern district (굇區). Lei said that the students are friends or schoolmates.
According to Lei, three victims reported separately to the Judiciary Police in September and October that their valuables kept in the helmet boxes of their motorcycles were stolen involving a total loss worth 4,040 patacas. The Judiciary Police went to the teens’ homes in the northern district between September 29 and October 20 and took the boys to a police station for questioning.
Lei said the first victim reported to the Judiciary Police on September 22 that 2,700 patacas in cash that he or she had put in his or her motorcycle’s helmet box on the previous day had vanished. The victim told the police that the vehicle was parked in Areia Preta district on the previous day and the money was missing the next day. The Judiciary Police discovered that three of the eight students were involved in the case. They claimed that they “only” stole 14 patacas from the helmet box.
According to Lei, the second victim reported to the Judiciary Police on September 26 that 800 patacas in the helmet box was missing. The victim told the police that the vehicle was parked in a residential building’s carpark on the previous day and the money had vanished the next day. PJ officers discovered that five of the eight teens were involved in the case. The boys told the police that they had stolen 300 patacas and that they split the money, and each got between 50 and 80 patacas.
Lei said that the third victim parked their motorcycle on October 1 in a car park and put the car park card in the helmet box and was unable to find the card the next day, and a surveillance camera worth 540 patacas installed at the car park was also stolen.
Under questioning, the eight boys claimed that they committed the thefts “for fun” and also for the money. They told the police that they just randomly picked motorcycles and stole valuables kept in the helmet boxes. They split the stolen money after stealing it and had spent it all, according to Lei.
The case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP). The 16-year-old boy surnamed Wu is facing an aggravated theft charge, according to Lei.
The others cannot be charged as they are under the age of criminal responsibility (ACR), which according to Macau’s Penal Code stands at 16.
