Crime | Man refuses change, grabs notes from cash register

The Public Security Police (PSP) on Sunday received a report of theft from a store on the Cotai Strip claiming that a man who intended to make purchase in the shop stole a total of HKD1,000.
The cashier, who reported the crime to PSP around 7:00 pm that day, said around an hour before, an unknown man dropped by the shop and selected a black leather bag worth HKD340 before proceeding to the checkout to pay. He declined an HKD500 note among the change given by the cashier and requested a MOP500 note instead. However, the cashier told him that there were no more pataca notes left in the cash register and asked him to take the available change.
According to the PSP’s account in a press conference held yesterday afternoon, the man then reached his hand into the cash register, refusing to believe the cashier’s words. He then grabbed a pile of notes and checked to see if there were any pataca notes. Realizing that there were in fact none left, the unidentified man then grabbed the money back from the cashier’s hands before leaving the shop without making any purchase.
The man’s suspicious behavior alerted the storekeeper, who afterwards discovered that a HKD1,000 note was in fact missing after counting. The cashier then called the police reporting the case immediately.
The PSP authorities also made an appeal to the media during the press conference, warning shopkeepers to stay cautious and alert all the time and to count their money clearly before customers leave. They also urge them to avoid allowing strangers to touch their cash registers. Staff reporter