A local man in his fifties was arrested this week after breaking a police wheel lock with his bare hands and fleeing with his impounded motorcycle.
The suspect, a construction worker surnamed Chao, was apprehended at his home after traffic police discovered that both the vehicle and the lock had vanished from a parking space in Nam Van.
Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Chi Weng told a regular press conference yesterday that the incident began on Monday morning. Traffic officers patrolling metered spaces on Avenida Doutor Mário Soares noticed Chao’s motorcycle was parked at an expired parking meter.
A further records check revealed the vehicle’s annual licence fee had not been paid. Officers subsequently affixed warning notices to the handlebars and seat before immobilising the bike with a wheel lock.
When officers returned on Tuesday afternoon to tow the vehicle, the space was empty. The police identified Chao via the vehicle registration system and tracked him to his residence in the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood that evening.
Under questioning, Wong said, Chao admitted to removing the lock. He claimed that when he found his motorcycle immobilised on Monday afternoon, he mistakenly believed it was solely due to the unpaid parking fee. He told police he broke the lock off with his bare hands and rode away, saying he intended to return the device when he eventually paid the fine.
The police recovered the wheel lock from an electricity meter box in Chao’s residential building. While the device was found to be slightly “deformed,” an examination suggested no tools had been used to force it open, Wong said.
Chao has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP). He faces charges of theft, disobedience, and the destruction of objects under public control. He has also been fined for the original tax and parking violations.
Security guard arrested for punching shop lamp
In a separate case, according to the PSP spokesman, a Nepalese security guard in his twenties was arrested this week for damaging a shop fitting while in a “bad mood.”
The incident occurred in the early hours of April 26 outside a dessert shop on Rua de Marques de Oliveira in the San Kio district. The shop owner reported the damage to the police after CCTV footage showed a passer-by punching a hanging lamp outside the premises. The owner estimated the damage at 3,400 patacas, Wong said.
Using the citywide CCTV network, the police identified the suspect as a non-resident worker (NRW) surnamed Gurung. He was summoned for questioning on Tuesday.
Gurung confessed to the act, telling the police he was frustrated and had been drinking at the time. He has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office on a charge of causing property damage, Wong said.
This undated handout photo released by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows two police officers escorting the Nepalese suspect to a police station near Toi San district in the north of the peninsula.
Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Chi Weng speaks during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Tony Wong
