A Macau Customs Service (SA) officer has recently been arrested for stealing a handbag that had been found and handed to him by a local man, according to a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson.
The spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Friday that at around 7 a.m. on February 16, a female resident reported to the police that she had lost a handbag that she had put on the roof of a car earlier that day, containing about 1,000 patacas in cash and several personal documents and ATM cards.
Through the citywide’s CCTV camera system, the Public Security Police saw a man riding a motorcycle in Taipa that morning, pick up the handbag, hand it to a customs patrol station and ride away, the spokesperson said, adding that at about 1 p.m. on that day, the police went to the station and asked about the matter, where they were informed that the officers on duty had not received any lost-and-found objects.
The Public Security Police suspected that someone at the station had taken advantage of their position to seize another person’s belongings, according to the spokesperson.
Further investigation revealed that a customs officer in his fifties surnamed Leong had moved items from the station to his own car on several occasions while on duty between 8:30 a.m. and 8: 55 a.m. on February 16, so the Public Security Police summoned Leong to a PSP station for questioning, who admitted that a man had handed the handbag to him on February 16. Leong claimed that at 8:30 a.m. that day, as required by his work, he moved several “official” items from the station to his car on several occasions. Leong insisted that he “forgot” to hand in the handbag and drove home after finishing his work.
Leong has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP).
Meanwhile, the Macau Customs Service (SA) expressed its “great” concern about the case in a statement on Friday, adding that it will fully cooperate with the investigation by the relevant entities.
The statement underlined that internal disciplinary investigation procedures have been launched concerning the officer who has been suspended during the ongoing investigation.
