The Public Security Police (PSP) caught a local man on Thursday for stealing money from a temple’s donation box on more than 20 occasions since July, a PSP spokesperson said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The spokesperson identified the suspect as a local man surnamed Leong in his forties, who told the police that he’s jobless.
According to the spokesperson, PSP officers received a report from a temple staff member in the northern district about their suspicion that a man had stolen cash from the temple’s donation box.
The officers went to the scene where they witnessed Leong entering the temple at about 1 a.m. on Thursday, and turning on a mobile phone torch the beam of which he pointed at the donation box. He then used hook to reach into the box to pull out the cash inside. Caught red-handed he was arrested on the spot.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing theft charges, according to Lei.
Upon questioning, Leong admitted that because of lack of money and the fact that there are almost no people in the temple in the early hours of the morning, he had used more than 10 different hooks since mid-July to pilfer cash from the box. Police officers later found a number of similar hooks in Leong’s home in the northern district.
Leong told the police that he had stolen a total of 2,500 patacas, which he used to cover some of his living expenses.
Leong has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a theft charge, according to the spokesperson.
This handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows the theft suspect being escorted by a PSP officer to a police station in the northern district.
