Two shoplifters from the mainland stole over 220 items worth 36,000 patacas from six shops in two days, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon told reporters during a regular press conference on Friday.
According to Wong, last Sunday evening, the police received a report from a staff member of a shop in Istmo de Ferreira do Amaral in Areia Preta district about two shoplifters stealing from the shop multiple times on the previous day.
Wong said that the police watched the shop’s CCTV and found that the two males were also stealing from two other shops in Rua Nova de Toi San and Praça das Portas do Cerco, adding that the police identified the two men and arrested them at a hotel in Estrada do Arco at 11 p.m. on the same day.
According to Wong, the suspects surnamed Hu and Liu, aged 31 and 37. Wong said that both held Exit-Entry Permits for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (informally known as “two-way permits”) and claimed to be restaurant owners in the mainland. Wong said that they stole items from the six shops and planned to resell them in the mainland for cash because they had gambled their money away in local casinos.
Wong said the two men admitted stealing from three shops, two supermarkets and a cosmetic’s shop last Saturday and Sunday. Their loot included infant formula, facial masks, and sunscreen.
According to Wong, the two suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), both facing theft charges.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Friday shows the two suspected shoplifters being escorted by PSP officers to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) in Nape.
