In two separate cases, two non-resident workers (NRWs), from Vietnam and from the mainland respectively, have been arrested for stealing a handbag and wallet, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Leong Chi Seng said at a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the 28-year-old Vietnamese suspect surnamed Bui works as a cleaner.
According to Leong, the Public Security Police received a report from a local woman on December 3 that earlier that day she had dropped a handbag, containing a phone worth 12,000 patacas and 2,000 patacas in cash, when she got in her car in Avenida da Longevidade. The police then checked their citywide CCTV surveillance system and discovered that Bui had picked up the handbag. He was summoned to a police station for questioning last Thursday.
Under questioning, Bui admitted to stealing the phone out of greed. Police officers retrieved the stolen phone in his flat.
In the second case, the 35-year-old suspect surnamed Wang is a chef.
In that case, the police received a report from a local woman on December 5 saying that she had left a purse containing 10,400 patacas in cash on a bench near the Barrier Gate checkpoint. After she realised that she had left the purse behind, she returned to the bench and found it had vanished, so she reported the case to the police.
According to Leong, after scrutinising their citywide CCTV camera system, the police identified Wang and intercepted him at the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Monday. Under questioning, Wang admitted to stealing the purse. He told the police that he had converted the money into 9,167 yuan (10,387 patacas) in a currency exchange shop and deposited it into his WeChat account, while his other belongings were in his flat in the mainland.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing theft-by-finding charges, Leong said.
Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Leong Chi Seng looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
– Photo: William Chan
