Three men from the mainland were arrested on Tuesday for stealing medicines and cosmetics from shops in the Barrier Gate area, with the two shops reporting total losses of at least 12,000 patacas, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Lam Keong said during a special press conference yesterday.
Lam said that investigation continues as one male suspect is still on the run.
The suspects, who are all from Jiangxi province, are surnamed Chen, Jiang, Lin and Yang and are aged between 21 and 24.
According to Lam, the police received reports from a shop owner in the Barrier Gate area last week about the theft of cosmetics and medicines worth about 10,000 patacas.The police tracked down four suspects in last week’s theft case thanks to CCTV footage when they re-entered the city on Tuesday and put them under surveillance.
Three of the suspects were hovering around the Barrier Gate area and sales assistants recognised two of them and immediately called the police who rushed to the scene and arrested the trio, who had been shoplifting again with the loot in a rucksack and a bag.
The suspects confessed that they had stolen a quantity of cosmetics and medicine to sell for a profit in the mainland, Lam said.
The three suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for questioning, facing aggravated theft charges while one suspect is still on the run, according to Lam.
This handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows two of the four suspected shoplifters being arrested at the scene on Tuesday.
Evidence seized from the suspects such as skincare products, a rucksack and a bag are displayed during yesterday’s special press conference about the case at the pressroom of the Public Security Police (PSP). - Photo: Iong Tat Choi
