3 suspects arrested 9 hours after Taoyuan jewelry store theft

Taoyuan, Jan. 26 (CNA) Three suspects in the theft of a gold necklace and pendant from a jewelry store in Taoyuan were arrested in the early hours of Monday, about nine hours after the theft on Sunday afternoon, according to the city's Yangmei Precinct.

Deputy Yangmei Precinct chief Chen Lung-wen (陳龍文) told reporters that police received a report around 5 p.m. Sunday that a jewelry store on Zhongzheng Road in Xinwu District had been robbed.

When police arrived on the scene, they were told that two men pretending to be shopping for jewelry had snatched a gold necklace and pendant while the staff were distracted, and then the suspects fled on a motorcycle, Chen said.

The stolen items weighed about two taels and have an estimated value of NT$420,000 (US$13,375), he said.

After reviewing surveillance footage from the store and surrounding areas, members of a police task force that had been assigned to the case were able to quickly identify the suspects and the getaway vehicle, Chen said.

Further investigation revealed that the suspects had stolen the motorcycle earlier Sunday on Zhonghua Road in preparation for stealing the jewelry.

Police later recovered the motorcycle at Fuxing Fishing Port in the neighboring Hsinchu County and arrested a man surnamed Chou (周), who was suspected of assisting the two thieves.

The two men who had entered the jewelry store Sunday afternoon were arrested at around 2 a.m. on Monday under a bridge along Provincial Highway 61 in Guanyin District, Chen said.

According to Chen, the men, surnamed Liu (劉) and Peng (彭), told police during questioning that they had decided to steal the jewelry because they were facing financial difficulties.

They claimed that they had ditched the jewelry during their escape, but police later found the necklace and pendant at Chou's residence in Guanyin District, Chen said.

The case has been referred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for further investigation, while police are still checking phone records and other evidence to determine whether there were any other accomplices, he said.