The police discovered that a local man was driving despite being under a driving ban after catching him riding his motorcycle on the pavement on Monday, a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The motorcyclist, aged in his thirties, told police he works as a casino pit supervisor.
Driving whilst subject to a driving ban is a criminal offence, and the suspect faces a charge of aggravated disobedience.
On Monday night, traffic police officers patrolling Rua 1º de Maio (勞動節街) in the Areia Preta district spotted a motorcycle being ridden along the pavement and immediately pulled it over for investigation. Under questioning, the motorcyclist, surnamed Leong, admitted he had driven on the pavement “purely for convenience to buy dinner”.
Police checks revealed that Leong had been sentenced by the court to a three-month driving ban between June 30 and September 29 for a repeat offence of jumping a red light earlier this year.
Leong has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), where he faces an aggravated disobedience charge.
Under Article 92 of the Road Traffic Law, anyone who drives whilst disqualified from driving commits a criminal offence, specifically an aggravated disobedience charge under Article 312 of the Macau Penal Code.
The police have also fined Leong for riding on the pavement.
Man picks up camera left behind on bench
Meanwhile, yesterday’s press conference also revealed that a man in his thirties from the Chinese mainland has been arrested after pocketing a camera left behind on a street bench by a female tourist in April.
The suspect, surnamed Wang, told police he is unemployed.
The female tourist, also from the mainland, inadvertently left her camera on a bench near Rua do Cunha in Taipa Village on April 12. She later realised and returned to the bench, but the camera had vanished. She subsequently reported the incident to the police.
She stated to police that the camera was worth 3,000 yuan (3,580 patacas).
Rua do Cunha, a pedestrianised street lined with restaurants and shops selling local snacks and delicacies, is one of Macau’s most popular tourist attractions.
After reviewing the citywide CCTV surveillance system, police confirmed that shortly after the woman left her camera, Wang picked it up.
He was arrested last Friday when re-entering Macau via the Hengqin joint border checkpoint.
Under questioning, Wang admitted to taking and keeping the camera out of a moment of greed, confessing that he had taken it back to his home on the mainland for personal use.
Wang has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office, facing a charge of theft-by-finding.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows a traffic police officer escorting the suspect to the headquarters of the PSP Traffic Department.
