The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a male mainlander on Wednesday for allegedly attempting to burgle a flat in a low-rise building near Rua do Campo in February, PJ spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The suspect left the flat after the owner found him searching it. After his arrest, the suspect denied having the intention of stealing anything from the flat, claiming that he merely needed to go to the toilet, according to Lei.
Lei identified the suspect as a 31-year-old surnamed Chen who told the police that he works as a barman.
The case happened in the early hours of February 15 in a flat in Rua Formosa. When the male owner of the flat was sleeping in his bedroom, he was awakened by a noise outside and went in to the living room where he saw a man – Chen – searching the flat, Lei said.
According to Lei, Chen then left the flat right away. He went upstairs to the building’s rooftop, jumped onto the rooftop of the adjacent building, and then vanished. The flat’s owner reported the case to the police. The owner later confirmed that nothing had been stolen, Lei said.
After investigating, PJ officers identified Chen as the suspected burglar, Lei said. The police discovered that Chen had managed to enter the adjacent building and go up to its rooftop. He then jumped onto the rooftop of the other building where he managed to climb into the flat with the alleged endeavour to steal valuables, according to Lei.
The police confirmed that Chen had quickly left Macau via the Barrier Gate border checkpoint after failing in his attempt to burgle the flat, Lei said.
Chen was arrested on Wednesday when he was about to re-enter Macau at a local border checkpoint. Under questioning, Chen admitted to having entered the flat, but denied that he had attempted to steal anything, telling the police that he merely wanted to use the toilet as he needed to urinate, according to Lei.
Chen has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, facing an aggravated attempted theft charge. According to Article 198 of the Macau Penal Code, theft by illegally entering a flat – i.e. burglary – is regarded as aggravated theft, which is punishable by a prison term of up to five years
