The Public Security Police (PSP) have separately arrested two suspected thieves, PSP spokeswoman Kong Chi Ian said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The Hong Kong suspect in the first case surnamed Kuong is a cleaner in her fifties. The victim is a man from the mainland.
According to Kong, the victim fell asleep on a sofa in a massage parlour in Zape on Sunday. When he woke up, he discovered that his mobile phone worth 5,000 yuan had vanished and reported the case to the police.
After scrutinising the parlour’s CCTV footage, PSP officers identified the suspect and arrested her nearby later that day. She admitted to the crime.
In the second case, the 40-year-old suspect is surnamed Zhang. He is a construction worker from the mainland.
According to Kong, a local man reported to the police on Sunday that his wallet containing 1,200 patacas was stolen from his shoulder bag when he was in a hotel on Rua Cidade de Sintra.
After scrutinising nearby CCTV footage, PSP officers identified the suspect and arrested Zhang nearby the next day in Rua de Xangai.
Zhang admitted to the crime and said that he committed it after gambling all his money away, claiming that he had also gambled away all the stolen money. He told the police that he discarded the wallet in a rubbish bin after removing all the cash.
Zhang and Kuong have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing theft charges.
These undated handout photos provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the theft suspects to a police station in Zape.
