A mainlander was arrested on Sunday for theft after picking up a Macau Pass Card he found in the street and spending about 800 patacas with it, a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson said in a regular press conference yesterday.
According to the spokesperson, the suspect is in his forties a non-resident worker (NRW) who works as a chef in Macau.
PSP officers received a report from a local man last year that he lost a Macau Pass Card in Taipa and found three unidentified spending records on the card through the Macau Pass online system, according to the spokesperson.
According to the spokesperson, the card belongs to the man’s son, who is 10 years old, who had lost it in Avenida de Guimarães (基馬拉斯大馬路) in Taipa when walking. The son told his father he had lost the card and they reported the matter to the police together.
With the assistance of the citywide CCTV surveillance system, PSP officers intercepted the suspect at the Barrier Gate checkpoint when he re-entered Macau on Sunday, and he admitted to committing the offence by picking up the Macau Pass Card and spending money with it, then discarding it.
There was only five patacas left on the discarded Macau Pass Card, the spokesperson said, adding all the money was spent in local supermarkets.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a theft-by-finding charge, according to the spokesperson.
This undated photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the mainland theft suspect to a police station.
