A mainland man who smashed the glass entrance door to an international smartphone brand chain shop in Cotai with a brick and a steel bar on September 27 was arrested upon re-entering Macau Saturday afternoon, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a special press conference yesterday.
The 48-year-old suspect, surnamed Wong, who claimed to be jobless, fled to the Chinese mainland shortly after causing 300,000 patacas in damage to the shop.
According to Chao, the Judiciary Police were notified by the Public Security Police Force (PSP) at around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, that the glass entrance to a phone chain shop at a hotel resort in Cotai had been damaged.
An investigation revealed that Wong arrived at the scene after first picking up a 30-centimetre-long steel bar from a waste recycling point in the northern district earlier that morning, followed by a brick near the former Macau Jockey Club in Taipa.
Chao said CCTV footage showed Wong repeatedly striking the glass door with the brick and steel bar for about two minutes until the glass cracked significantly. He then fled the scene and left Macau via the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal.
The Judiciary Police identified Wong following the incident and placed him on a watch list. He was intercepted by police at Qingmao Port (checkpoint) at around noon on Saturday when he attempted to re-enter Macau.
Chao said that Wong’s motive for the attack remained unclear. Chao said police found no records indicating that Wong suffered from any psychiatric illness, nor did records show he had been queuing at the shop to purchase newly released products.
Chao did not disclose the name of the shop where the incident happened. However, according to a video circulating on social media, the incident happened at the Apple Store in The Londoner Macao in Cotai.
Wong has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation, facing a charge of aggravated damage.
The Judiciary Police urged members of the public to settle disputes through rational and lawful channels and refrain from committing criminal offences on impulse, stressing that the authorities will crack down on property-related crimes in accordance with the law to maintain public order and security.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspect to a police vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape on Saturday. – Photo: Sherwin Hng
