A 47-year-old Indonesian domestic helper has been arrested for stealing gold jewellery belonging to her Indonesian flatmate and pawning the items, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The suspect was identified as Misriyah, a 47-year-old Indonesian non-resident worker employed as a domestic helper.
According to Lei, the victim, a middle-aged maid, reported on Monday that gold jewellery kept in a locked drawer in her bedroom at their rented flat in the central district had vanished.
Lei said the victim had placed the jewellery in the drawer last month, but only discovered its disappearance on September 10. She reported an estimated loss of 14,000 patacas and suspected Misriyah, who is her sole flatmate and has access to the unit.
Police officers subsequently identified Misriyah as the suspect and arrested her near her workplace in the Santo António Parish (花王堂區) on Tuesday morning.
Under questioning, Misriyah admitted to stealing the jewellery on two occasions in late August. She told police that she had taken the key to the victim’s drawer without her knowledge, removed the jewellery, and pawned the items, citing financial pressure back in Indonesia.
She received 6,000 patacas from the pawnshop and remitted the funds to her family in Indonesia.
Relying on the pawn tickets, police recovered all the stolen items from the pawnshop, including a gold necklace, a pair of gold earrings, and a jade pendant. The jewellery, valued at about 16,800 patacas, was seized for investigation, Lei said.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), where she faces charges of aggravated theft and fraud.
Aggravated theft carries a prison term of up to five years, while fraud carries a prison term of up to three years.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the seized gold jewellery, corresponding pawn tickets, and the key to the drawer used in the theft.
