Hotel burglar rounded up in a day

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

A French couple who lost a gold wedding ring, a wrist watch and 80 Euros while holidaying at a resort hotel in Sigiriya were delighted when the police found the stolen items in less than a day in the possession of a man who had burgled their hotel room while the couple had gone out for a walk after dinner, the Police media spokesman told the Sunday Observer.

The cat burglar had removed a window pane to enter the room. Having stolen the gold ring and cash, the burglar had gone to the adjoining room and stole Rs 24,000 belonging to another French couple.

Thereafter he had slipped out into the darkness, without being noticed by the hotel staff. However on the following night, Inspector Sunil Ekanayake and a party from Matale police station found a man lurking near the Kekirawa bus halt, wearing an expensive wrist watch. When police questioned him from where he got the watch the man could not give a satisfactory explanation.

When questioned further the suspect admitted that he had broken into the hotel room at Sigiriya.

The stolen wedding ring, the wrist watch and cash were later recovered.

Meanwhile the French couple who were in another hotel in Nuwara Eliya came all the way down to the Dambulla Magistrate Courts to identify their belongings.

On a motion filed by the Police the Magistrate released the items to the French couple.

The suspect is a native of Sekupitiya, Kekirawa, police said.