Intern reporter Xu Si Jia - In a single night, approximately 90 high-end watches stored by a company, including Patek Philippe, Maina, and Longines, vanished without a trace. Along with them, valuable items such as jadeite, ivory, teapots, stamp albums, and "Da Hong Pao" were also stolen. More outrageously, the brazen thief defecated at the crime scene. After 36 hours, on the evening of January 8th, the thief was finally apprehended. Upon seeing the recovered stolen goods piled up on the table, Ms. Wei, the manager of the stolen company, couldn't help but burst into tears...
Yesterday morning, the Morning Post reporter saw the suspect Tang at the detention center. Tang revealed that he originally planned to sell the stolen watches for a hundred yuan each, but unexpectedly, he was caught so quickly.
A moment of carelessness lost 2 million yuan worth of property
Ms. Wei's trading company is located on the 3rd floor of a business building on Kai Xuan Road, mainly dealing in watch trading, with the office and warehouse on the same floor. On January 6th, Ms. Wei had intended to ship out goods, but due to some minor issues in transportation, she temporarily placed the goods inside the company. "Anyway, it's just for one night, so I didn't lock them in the safe."
Early Saturday morning, employees came to the company ready to ship out the goods, only to find the room in disarray. Ms. Wei's office appeared to have been ransacked, with drawers turned upside down and things scattered all over the floor, making it almost impossible to step. Worse still, the thief had defecated at the scene, causing the entire office to stink.
After inventorying, about 90 luxury watches, dozens of expensive pieces of jewelry, two stamp albums, a teapot, a box of tea, etc., were stolen. Also missing was a dark-colored trolley case, leading Ms. Wei to suspect that the thief had packed the items into the case and taken them away. Preliminary estimates suggested the stolen goods were valued at around 2 million yuan. "I should have put them in the safe!" Ms. Wei regretted bitterly, her small oversight having caused such a significant loss.
A teapot exposed the suspect's identity
After the incident, Ms. Wei immediately reported it to the police. The Xinhua Road Police Station of Changning Branch promptly arrived at the scene. The police analysis suggested that the suspect might have climbed up from the air conditioning units on the 1st and 2nd floors, entered through the window, and fled on foot carrying the stolen goods. By reviewing street surveillance footage, the police found an image of a man dragging a suspicious trolley case walking on the streets near the crime scene at around 3:30 AM on January 7th. They tracked him and discovered that the man had stayed at a roadside inn. However, when the police arrived at the inn, they found that the man had checked out early on January 8th. "He stayed here for about a month, claiming to accompany a friend to Shanghai for medical treatment," recalled the inn staff. Following this lead, the police investigated nearby hospitals and identified one where the suspect likely hid under the pretense of accompanying a patient at night.
To avoid alarming the suspect, the police changed into plainclothes and sought assistance from healthcare personnel to understand the patient's condition. During the search, the police noticed a middle-aged man dressed simply holding an exquisite teapot drinking "Da Hong Pao." This teapot resembled the stolen item in appearance, and the type of tea being brewed matched the stolen goods. After careful observation, the police faintly saw a dark-colored trolley case under the bed.
It's him! The police acted decisively, pressing him down onto the bed, successfully controlling the suspect.
Accompanying a friend for medical treatment didn't stop him from stealing
Upon investigation, the suspect Tang confessed to breaking into the trading company in the early hours of January 7th and committing theft. He also admitted to two other home burglary cases in Xuhui District since arriving in Shanghai on December 9th last year.
Tang is 42 years old and was released from prison in April last year. On December 9th last year, Tang accompanied a friend to Shanghai for medical treatment, spending his days at the hospital and searching for theft targets on weekends. Due to unfamiliarity with Shanghai's geography, Tang could only target commercial buildings along major roads. "Generally, I would choose places with aluminum sliding windows because they can be easily opened with a bit of force," said Tang, who didn't expect the stolen items to be so valuable. But due to a lack of channels for selling the stolen goods, he could only give the stolen branded wallets to his sick friend and use the stolen computer to watch discs and play games. "I liked this teapot very much, so I used it to drink tea, which led to my downfall."
When the officers returned the ID card and mobile phone to the suspect, Tang shook his head and laughed bitterly, "Forget it, I probably won't need these for the next few decades."
Currently, the suspect Tang has been criminally detained by the Changning police, and the case is under further investigation and review.
The Changning police remind all enterprises and institutions to enhance their awareness of prevention, make sure doors and windows are closed and locked after work, especially as the Spring Festival approaches and most employees return home for the New Year, it's essential to thoroughly check the condition of doors and windows before leaving. Large amounts of cash should be deposited in banks, and valuable items must be locked in securely anchored safes. Meanwhile, property security or gatekeeping security should strengthen nighttime patrols.
[Dialogue with the Suspect]
Not understanding English packaging resulted in not taking the diamonds
Yesterday afternoon, the Morning Post reporter met the suspect Tang at the Changning Detention Center. He is of average height, with dark skin, a red birthmark on his left cheek, wearing thick cotton clothes and pants, sitting indifferently and blankly in the interrogation room.
Morning Post (hereinafter referred to as Morning): Was the choice of that building targeted specifically at the stolen company on the 3rd floor?
Tang (hereinafter referred to as Tang): That night, I walked along Kai Xuan Road and noticed that the 2nd and 3rd floors of this business building did not have burglar-proof windows installed. Moreover, the aluminum sliding windows seemed unlocked, leaving a gap. So, I stepped on the air conditioner unit on the 1st floor, climbed to the 2nd floor first, and saw only desks and chairs inside, which didn't seem to have anything valuable. Then, I climbed to the 3rd floor via the air conditioner unit on the 2nd floor.
Morning: Surveillance showed you entered the company on the 3rd floor around 11 PM and left at around 3:30 AM, what were you doing during those four hours?
Tang: After entering, I found that the warehouse was full of watches, so I opened each box and took a few out. Then I searched the office and found quite a lot of good stuff, so I opened the cabinets and rummaged through everything. By around 1 AM, I was almost done, then I played on the computer, drank tea, and smoked in the office.
Morning: Why didn't you steal the diamonds in the office but instead chose the thick and heavy stamp albums and teapots?
Tang: The packaging of the diamonds was all in English, which I couldn't understand. As for collectibles, artworks, and jadeite, I've always liked them.
Morning: Why did you leave excrement at the scene after stealing?
Tang: It's an old saying from my hometown; if you defecate after stealing, you won't get caught. But I didn't expect to be arrested by the police the next day.
Morning: How were you planning to handle the stolen goods?
Tang: I might have sold the watches randomly somewhere, even for a hundred yuan each.
Morning: Now that you've been caught, how do you feel?
Tang: I was scared and regretful, but now it's too late to say anything. However, I am truly amazed by how capable the Shanghai police are.