Police have arrested a woman who was caught on CCTV stealing some US$9,000 from an unattended washing machine in Hung Hom.
According to Apple Daily, officers arrested the suspect, 34, yesterday morning.
The chain of events leading up to the arrest began two weeks ago when a Hung Hom florist surnamed Mo forgot to deposit the HK$90,000 (just under US$11,500) she earned over Chinese New Year, and left the wad of cash in a coat pocket that she took her local laundromat on Bulkeley Street. When Mo returned to the laundromat hours later, she found her clothes had been taken out of the washing machine, and set aside on a stool, with about HK$70,000 missing (about US$8,900).
The police were called and shown CCTV footage from inside the laundromat showing a woman crouching beside Mo’s washing machine and taking out the cash.
Speaking to Apple Daily, Mo said that since she reported the theft, she had been showing people in the Hung Hom area a screenshot of the CCTV footage, asking them if they recognised the thief. Many said she had been seen walking around the area and definitely lived in Hung Hom.
Police contacted Mo yesterday afternoon to say that they arrested the suspect at an apartment unit in the Fok Lin Building on Baker Street, a three-minute walk from the Bulkeley Street laundromat.
A preliminary investigation found that the suspect had deposited HK$30,000 (some US$3,800) into her own bank account.
Police told Mo that it might not be possible to retrieve all of the stolen money, but that they will try their best to find it.
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