Taipei police on Tuesday tracked down a teenager suspected of stealing about NT$1 million (US$32,125) from a 7-Eleven convenience store, finding him within 24 hours at a karaoke box (KTV) in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和).
Police said they traced the suspect, Su Po-juei (蘇柏瑞), 18, to the KTV and found Su and his friends drinking and singing.
“Su had a stash of bills, about NT$500,000 in cash, which we believed was part of the money stolen from a 7-Eleven. After searching his backpack and personal effects, we found several ketamine pills and a BB gun,” Taipei Wenshan District (文山) First Police Precinct investigation unit chief Chang Wen-feng (張文峰) said. “Su and his friends were bewildered when we busted his party. Su said that police were too quick to track him down and that he just had starting to enjoy himself.”
The theft occurred on Monday morning at about the same time Su’s shift ended at a convenience store in Wenshan, where he had been working for only seven days.
Police said Su planned the robbery, as he applied to work at the store late last month knowing there would be staff shortages during the Lunar New Year holiday. He started the job on Jan. 30 and was put on the “graveyard” shift, working alone from 11pm to 7am, and being responsible for the store’s deliveries and cash deposits.
The store had amassed a large amount of cash, stored in a safe, because of bank closures over the Lunar New Year holiday, police said.
Su and a friend, surnamed Huang (黃), allegedly disconnected and removed the store’s surveillance cameras on Monday, then forcefully opened the safe, taking about NT$930,000 in cash.
The theft was discovered later that morning when a 7-Eleven delivery truck driver arrived at the store and found it empty. He called the store manager, who reported the theft.
Police checked street surveillance cameras, contacted Su’s family and accessed his telephone records to track him down.
Huang was apprehended on Monday evening.
Authorities are still attempting to recover all the cash, as Su allegedly gave cash gifts to friends.
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