A local man who works as a hotel security guard was arrested on Tuesday in Rua de Choi Long (聚龍街) in Taipa for sexually harassing a drunken woman in a cab on January 5, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheong Heon Fan said at a press briefing yesterday.
The 44-year-old married suspect is surnamed Chan.
According to Cheong, the woman, who is in her forties, reported to the Public Security Police on January 6 that she lost her diamond earrings worth 7,100 patacas the previous night. She told the police that she had dinner in a restaurant in the Barrier Gate area on January 5 with a friend who introduced a new male friend to her. She drank a lot during the meal and later discovered that the pair of earrings she wore that night had vanished.
Cheong said that the Public Security Police scrutinised the taxi’s CCTV footage and discovered that the man (the new friend) kissed the woman and touched her breasts multiple times during the taxi ride.
According to Cheong, after the Public Security Police notified the victim about the incident, she told the police that she could not remember what had happened that night as she was drunk. However, she wanted to take legal action against Chan. The victim said that she met Chan through her friend that night. When she left the restaurant after dinner, Chan asked if she would like to share the taxi from the Barrier Gate neighbourhood to her home near Seac Pai Van in Coloane.
Cheong said that PSP officers identified Chan as the suspect and arrested him on Tuesday in Rua de Choi Long in Taipa. He admitted to sexually harassing the victim by taking advantage of the fact that she was drunk. The Public Security Police are continuing their investigation into the case to look for the whereabouts of the diamond earrings.
Chan has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a charge of sexual harassment against a person who was unable to resist, according to Cheong.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the sexual harassment suspect to a police station in Taipa.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows evidence seized from the suspect such as a smartphone and the clothes he wore when committing the crime.
