The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man from the Chinese mainland on Saturday for stealing money from a temple on May 15, PJ spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 35-year-old male surnamed Qin, who works for an advertising company.
According to Lei, the Judiciary Police received a report on May 29 from a temple in the central district. The person in charge reported that cash in the temple’s donation box was suspected to have been stolen.
Upon investigation, PJ officers discovered that Qin, along with an accomplice who remains at large, had visited the temple on the afternoon of May 15. They took advantage of the staff’s absence to commit the theft. Lei added that Qin used an umbrella as cover while his accomplice used tools to extract cash from the donation box.
Staff only discovered the theft when they opened the donation box on the day the report was made.
After committing the crime, the two suspects left Macau.
On Saturday, Qin was intercepted by PJ officers when he re-entered Macau via the Barrier Gate checkpoint. Lei said he was found in possession of suspected burglary tools, including a tape measure, nylon string, small metal plates, and double-sided tape.
Lei said that the perpetrators first used the tape measure to gauge the depth of the donation box. They then attached metal pieces of varying sizes to the string and used double-sided tape to fish the cash out of the box.
Although the exact amount stolen has not yet been determined, the temple keeps records of its donations. Based on past figures, the estimated loss is about 8,000 patacas. Lei noted that PJ officers will continue to trace the stolen funds and track down the remaining accomplice.
Qin has since been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) where he faces a charge of theft.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows evidence seized from the temple theft suspect surnamed Qin.
