What are the chances? Woman in China tries to sell iPhone, stolen by husband, to original owner
Fingerprint recognition technology lets shop owner get his property back – and solve a crime
PUBLISHED : Friday, 26 February, 2016, 1:30pm
UPDATED : Friday, 26 February, 2016, 2:55pm
Gloria Chan
[email protected]
An iPhone S6 like the one stole from the store owner in Hangzhou. Photo: AP
The owner of a phone shop in Eastern China who had his own iPhone stolen at a public bath house found it on Thursday when the wife of the suspected thief brought it to his shop to try to sell it, mainland media reported.
The 30-year-old store owner, surnamed Yu, had his iPhone 6S stolen while showering at a public bath last week in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, according to the news website Eastday.com. He put the phone in a locker, but it had disappeared by the time he returned.
Police called to the site viewed security footage and immediately suspected a staff member, surnamed Tang, who was working at the men’s dressing room at the time of the theft.
Yet Tang vehemently denied stealing the phone when being questioned.
On Thursday night, a woman in her twenties went to Yu’s phone shop, wanting to sell a phone which she said she could not unlock.
Suspecting the phone was his, Yu tried unlocking it with his fingerprint – and succeeded.
The woman told police the phone was given to her a few days earlier by her husband, who turned out to be Tang.
She said she did not know the phone was stolen and only wanted to sell it because the couple needed money.
Tang later turned himself in. He told the police that he felt greedy after hearing a mobile phone ringing in a locker in the men’s dressing room. He then opened Yu’s locker with a spare key and stole the phone.
Consumer electronics such as iPhones are highly sought after in China and some people go to extremes to obtain them, including selling their own organs.
The case has been handed over to prosecutors.
