Recyclables collector steals door ‘by mistake’

A 50-year-old Vietnamese woman working as a collector of recyclable materials has been accused by a store owner of stealing the steel door from his store.

Earlier this week, the store owner, who sells stoves and other gas appliances, removed the metal gate from his store and placed it beside the shop.

Later that day, the woman was roaming the city with a cart searching for recyclable materials when she saw the gate and collected it.

The man reported the theft to the Public Security Police Force (PSP), who, after reviewing footage from the store’s surveillance cameras identified the woman and began to search for her.

She was finally caught later that day in Taipa. She admitted to the PSP officers that she had collected the metal door which she later sold to a recyclables collection point and received 50 patacas for it.

The store owner claims that the door is worth as much as 4,000 patacas and has pressed charges against the woman for theft.

According to the PSP spokesperson, the woman is not a legal worker in Macau and has a temporary permit to stay in Macau, which is only valid until April 5 this year.

The case of the alleged theft has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office.