A non-resident worker was arrested for embezzlement of more than MOP 220,000 (US$28,000) from a takeaway where he worked, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai during a regular press conference on Monday.
The 44-year-old male suspect is surnamed Chen from the mainland.
According to Choi, a mainland student reported to the police on Friday he suspected that one of his employees embezzled MOP 220,000 from the takeaway he co-owns between January and March, when he was unable to return to Macao because of the COVID-19 entry restrictions at that time.
The victim, whose name was not revealed, told the police that he had employed Chen at the takeaway in Iao Hon district since 2017 and entrusted him with the additional responsibility of working as a cashier in 2018. The victim had asked Chen to provide him daily income details via WeChat and deposit the money into a local bank regularly, according to Choi.
Choi said that when victim had not been able to enter Macao due to COVID-19 epidemic prevention measures in place since January, Chen did not send him any income or business transaction details via WeChat from January to the end of March, nor had any funds been deposited into the bank account.
Consequently, the victim asked a co-owner to go to the takeaway to check its finances at the end of March, when it emerged that at least MOP 220,000 had vanished.
According to Choi, the victim came back to Macao on Wednesday to clarify the matter with Chen who, according to the victim, admitted the embezzlement. The victim on Friday reported the case to the police who arrested the suspect at the takeaway later that day. Chen refused to cooperate with the police.
Chen was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Saturday, facing an abuse-of-trust charge involving a considerable large amount of money, officially defined as exceeding MOP 150,000, according to Choi.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
