A man with a passion for antiques was recently caught stealing from an antique shop in Shanghai after befriending the shop owner and gaining his trust.
The incident occurred early one morning when the nearly 70-year-old shop owner, who lives in a back room of his shop, heard a noise at around 4 AM. Using his crutches, he left his room and discovered a man breaking into his store. Upon realizing the owner was awake, the intruder fled the scene. Despite his age, the owner recognized the man as Zhang, a frequent visitor who had recently become his friend.
Upon inspecting his store, the owner found that more than 10 antiques were missing, including valuable items such as plain three-color and blue-and-white gourd bottles from the Republic of China, and a glazed red fish blue bottle. He estimated the total value of the stolen items to be over 300,000 yuan.
The owner reported the theft to the police at the Chuansha Police Station of the Pudong Branch. The police quickly identified Zhang as the suspect and apprehended him around 2 PM that same day, recovering the stolen antiques on the spot.
In custody, Zhang confessed to the theft. He explained that he had developed an obsession with antiques and, during his internship in Shanghai, had met the antique shop owner by chance. Eager to learn more about antiques, Zhang offered to help around the shop, eventually earning the owner’s trust. Noticing the owner’s lax security measures, Zhang succumbed to greed and began stealing items from the shop to sell them for money. He admitted to breaking into the store multiple times in the early morning hours until he was caught.
Currently, Zhang has been arrested by the Pudong police and released on bail pending trial. The case remains under further investigation.
