A local man was arrested on Monday after picking up another person’s handbag at a bus stop outside the Barrier Gate checkpoint last Saturday and keeping it for himself, according to a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson.
The spokesperson said during a regular press conference yesterday that the owner of the handbag is a local man who reported the loss of 810 patacas in cash and valuables, while the arrested man, surnamed Lou, is a 65-year-old unemployed resident.
According to the spokesperson, the handbag contained a few necessities, and 600 yuan (equal to 669 patacas).
According to the spokesperson, the victim reported to the police that he had left his handbag next to the escalator at the bus station outside the Barrier Gate checkpoint last Saturday, and returned the next day to look for it without success, suspecting that it had been stolen.
The suspect was intercepted by police in Avenida dos Jardins do Oceano in Taipa on Monday, and police found the handbag in his flat, according to the spokesman. The spokesperson did not reveal where the suspect lives.
Lou admitted to stealing the handbag out of greed and spending all the cash.
Lou has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP).
This undated photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows a PSP officer escorting the male theft-by-finding suspect to the northern district police station.
