A domestic helper from the Philippines and a local tutor were arrested on Friday and Saturday respectively for stealing expensive spirits from their employer, the Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said in a regular press conference yesterday.
The female suspect is a 39-year-old woman surnamed Ortiz, while the 21-year-old male suspect is surnamed Ieng. Their employer is a local woman.
According to Chao, on January 6, the employer discovered that over 14 expensive bottles of alcohol had disappeared from her flat. She suspected Oritz and questioned her but the latter denied she had stolen the bottles, leading the employer to install CCTV cameras in her home.
On Friday, the employer discovered that two more bottles of spirits had vanished and reported the case to the police. The police arrested Oritz on Friday in the flat. Ortiz admitted to stealing six bottles of spirits worth about 10,000 patacas, and that she had sent the bottles to the Philippines.
During the investigation, the police discovered that Ieng, who worked as a tutor for the victim, had also stolen a number of bottles of spirits and arrested him on Saturday.
Under questioning, Ieng admitted to stealing 16 bottles of spirits, 13 of which were worth 130,000 patacas, he had meanwhile sold to five buyers for 50,000 patacas in total.
Both suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) yesterday, facing aggravated theft charges.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
