Three employees of a cleaning company hired by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) were arrested on Tuesday for taking advantage of their work to steal alcoholic beverages and cosmetics while cleaning illegal guesthouses before they were sealed by MGTO over the past six months, a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson said in a regular press conference on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson, the trio comprise a mainlander surnamed Lian in his thirties who heads the cleaning company, a female cleaner of the company surnamed Quintana and male cleaner surnamed Castillo, both from the Philippines.
On Tuesday morning, PSP officers were cooperating with MGTO in an operation raiding illegal guesthouses on Avenida Sir Anders Ljungstedt, and found that two cleaners accompanying them were acting suspiciously, as they did not discard the five bags of rubbish they had collected during the operation, but placed them at the front door instead.
PSP officers then opened the rubbish bags and found that there were alcoholic beverages and cosmetics inside, and they suspected that the cleaning staff had taken advantage of their job to steal goods from the guesthouses.
Lian told the police that it was he who arranged for cleaners from his company to remove the items that would easily deteriorate and cause a stench in the illegal guesthouses sealed by the MGTO, and then six months ago, he decided to join his two Filipino colleagues in stealing items during the course of their work and share the proceeds. He admitted that he committed the crime out of greed.
Lian also told the police that he and his two accomplices had stolen items from at least 10 illegal guesthouses in the past six months, and said he was not sure about the number of items stolen and the amount of money gained or the actual locations, the spokesperson said.
The police also went to the trio’s flats in the northern and central districts respectively and seized alcoholic beverages and cosmetics suspected to be related to the case.
The trio were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of aggravated theft.
This handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Thursday shows the three cleaners being escorted by PSP officers to a police station in Zape.
