Loss of earrings led to sexual abuse finding

A local 40-year-old woman losing a pair of expensive earrings prompted an investigation that unexpectedly discovered that she had been sexually assaulted, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) revealed yesterday at the regular joint press conference of the police forces.

The strange case was discovered when the woman went to a police station on January 6 to report the loss of a pair of diamond earrings worth over 7,000 patacas. The woman told the police that on the previous evening (January 5), she was having a meal and drinks with some friends at a restaurant and she had drunk too much and did not remember much of what happened. Still, she remembered taking a taxi home that night, suspecting that the earrings might have fallen off while she was in the taxi.

Following these leads, the PSP initiated investigations and identified  the taxi, calling for the surveillance recording of the vehicle to investigate if the earrings were lost in the car.

Unexpectedly while reviewing the taxi surveillance footage, the PSP found the woman had been accompanied by a man in the taxi who, on several occasions during the trip, kissed her and fondled her breasts. The PSP then called the victim to inform her of this finding.

She recognized the man in the footage and said that he was one of the people with whom she had been eating and drinking that evening. She said he was a friend of a friend and that was the first time they had met.

Further investigation also revealed that this suspect offered to catch a taxi with the woman as she was not in a condition to get home by herself. They had shared the taxi as they were going in the same direction.

The police managed to identify the suspect as a 44-year-old man, a resident of Macau who works as a security agent at a hotel.

On March 8, he was detained for investigation at home in Taipa. During questioning, he admitted to the crime.

The man has been presented to the Public Prosecutions Office and will be charged with sexual abuse of a person incapable of resisting, under the provision of Article 159 of the Penal Code. For such a crime, he can face a penalty that ranges from one to eight years of imprisonment.