Two nabbed for stealing from seniors

Two men have been arrested in Qingpu district for stealing money from senior citizens as they collected their monthly pensions, police said Thursday.

Police arrested the suspects, surnamed Tang and Li, as they were leaving their homes on July 9, according to a press release from the Qingpu District Public Security Bureau. Police said they committed at least five thefts over the last two months.

Tang and Li admitted that they targeted elderly residents on days when they received their pensions, said Jiang Zhongcheng, a press officer with Qingpu police. The two men would hang around outside a specific bank where residents could collect their pensions on a specific day each month.

"Elderly residents would flock to the bank several days after their pensions were deposited," Jiang told the Global Times. "Some would withdraw the entire sum. Others would only withdraw 200 yuan ($32.60) or 300 yuan."

Jiang said that one of the suspects had been living in Shanghai since 2005 and was familiar with when the elderly would collect their pensions. They would target seniors who were by themselves and had trouble getting around.

Qingpu police began investigating the thefts after receiving several reports in June and July from residents over 60 who had lost their pensions in the town of Shangta.

In one typical case, a retired woman surnamed Wu lost 1,200 yuan of her pension money after withdrawing it from a bank on July 3, according to the press release. Wu kept the cash in a little bag that she put on the back of her tricycle while she ran errands that day. However, when she returned to the tricycle after visiting the local health center, the bag was gone.

Most of the victims were riding tricycles at the time.

"It is typical for every household in Shangta to own a tricycle," Jiang said. "Senior citizens usually ride them when they go out, for example, to buy groceries. They will usually stow their belongings on the back."

Police found that two middle-aged men were responsible for the thefts by checking footage from surveillance cameras in the town. They then identified the two men by investigating the residents of the nearby villages.

Police advised elderly residents against going to the bank alone.