An off-duty police officer in southwestern China recognized a suspected criminal while shopping at a mall with his wife.
The circulating CCTV footage of the perpetrator helped police officer Fan Shihai identify the suspected thief, who was previously seen stealing a mobile phone in Chongqing three days earlier, according to South China Morning Post.
Fan admitted that it was part of his work ethic to frequently check images of wanted criminals and his habit certainly paid off.
The police officer’s day away from work eventually turned into an unexpected overtime as Fan and his wife decided to pursue the perpetrator together. Fan managed to call for backup after he saw the thief making his way into a coffee shop.
While the suspect was able to flee from the coffee shop, he was eventually arrested an hour later.
Not only was the police officer able to capture a criminal, he also gave his wife a firsthand experience on the nature of his work.
Featured Photo via Flickr / Tauno Tõhk / 陶诺 (CC BY-SA 2.0)
