Man in China hides in box to enter building, followed woman home to steal gold
A man in China hid in a wooden box to enter a residential building. He then stole gold worth 200,000 yuan (S$28,000) from a woman.
His actions, however, were quickly tracked by the police, who arrested him within a week.
Hid in wooden box to avoid security cameras
On 9 October, the suspect, a 46-year-old man surnamed Zhao, hid inside a wooden box.
A delivery worker transported the box into a building in Hunan province, reports South China Morning Post.
Zhao hoped to avoid security cameras and surveillance by staying inside the crate until he reached his target.
Source: South China Morning Post
Once inside, Zhao climbed out of the box and followed a woman returning home. He claimed to be there to “recover a debt” and forced her to open her safe.
Source: narong27 on Canva, for illustrative purposes only.
He stole 230 grams of gold, worth approximately 200,000 yuan (S$28,000), along with 2,000 yuan (S$360) in cash.
Returned to box and was taken away by another delivery service
To ensure the woman could not alert anyone, Zhao forced her to take sleeping pills before spending four hours cleaning the flat to remove any evidence.
Afterwards, he returned to the wooden box and another delivery service took it away.
Suspect eventually traced and arrested by police, stolen gold retrieved
The woman regained consciousness and contacted the police, who began investigating the crime. After a week, authorities traced Zhao’s whereabouts using surveillance footage and various investigative techniques.
Source: Africa images on Canva, for illustrative purposes only.
Zhao, who had been living in Zhejiang province, was arrested on 18 October and brought back to Hunan.
Authorities charged him with theft. They also recovered the gold and returned it to the woman.
The police remain silent on how they traced Zhao. However, online comments proposed several instrumental methods.
This includes surveillance video, logistics records, fingerprints, and mobile phone signals.
Man said TV dramas inspired him
In police questioning, Zhao admitted that television dramas inspired him. He was surprised by how quickly the police caught him.
While police detained Zhao, the delivery workers involved in the case were not held responsible.
The police have yet to disclose where the delivery originated or how much it cost.
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Featured image adapted from South China Morning Post and narong 27 on Canva, for illustrative purposes only.
