Overstayer arrested in Macao for allegedly stealing gaming chips

Macao's Judiciary Police has arrested an illegal overstayer from the Chinese mainland here, who allegedly stole gaming chips, with a combined value of 670,000 Hong Kong dollars (86,211 U.S. dollars), from a local casino, the Macao Post Daily reported on Tuesday.

Staff of the MGM Macao casino resort found, through a CCTV monitor, that the 35-year-old suspect, who came from China's Inner Mongolia, forced open a locked safe at one of the casinos empty gaming table and took out several chips on Monday, the daily quoted a police spokesman as saying.

The suspect then attempted to trade 590,000 HK dollars worth of the stolen chips with a junket gaming promoter for cash.

After the casino staff reported the case to the police, the suspect was arrested at a hotel near the MGM Macao and the police seized the rest of the stolen chips at the hotel room he stayed, according to the spokesman.

Police found that the man's entry permit expired six months ago, which made him an illegal overstayer in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The suspect has been transferred to Macao's Public Prosecution for further investigation.

Source: Xinhua