Man Checks Out of Hotel With Room’s Flat Screen TV in Bag

Man Checks Out of Hotel With Room’s Flat Screen TV in Bag
A man carrying a television. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
Daniel Holl
5/17/2019
Updated:
9/6/2019

For most customers staying in hotels, free shampoo and pens may be sufficient complimentary gifts. Yet one man decided to take an unexpected extra item for himself before checking out.

A man walked out of a hotel with a flat screen TV secretly packed in his travel bag in Shanghai, China. Police detained the man on April 28 for being suspected of theft, according to The Beijing News.

Chinese police were only able to arrest the man, surnamed Qu, after he went to a different hotel and stole an employee’s cellphone from the front desk. The police only recently publicized information on the theft.

To Steal a Hotel TV

Qu was seen leaving the hotel on April 22. Security camera footage both captured images of the man walking down a hallway from the room with a large bag in hand, as well as speaking to the front desk.

He then tricked the front desk employee by telling them that he would continue staying at the hotel, but was going out for a moment. His intent was to prevent the missing TV from being discovered, according to Weibo’s Morning Post. Weibo is a Chinese service similar to Twitter.

Yet, later that day, a room service employee who went into Qu’s room to clean found that the flat screen television, which originally hung on the wall, had vanished. The hotel reported the incident to the police.

The police looked at surveillance footage. However, after conducting the investigation, the police were only able to obtain the man’s identification, but not where he lived.

The report said that after Qu left the hotel, he quickly sold the television and spent all the money.

Qu committed another theft at a different hotel. As he walked by, he spotted a smartphone sitting out in the open in the hotel lobby.

Then Qu called the front desk, disguising himself as a customer, and asked for the receptionist to assist with opening the door. Just as the receptionist opened the door, Qu quickly snatched the phone and left.

When the stolen phone was reported to the police, they were able to identify Qu as the same individual who stole the TV from the other hotel, The Beijing News reported. No details were given on how the police located him. Qu was detained on April 28 for suspected theft.

Daniel Holl is a Sacramento, California-based reporter, specializing in China-related topics. He moved to China alone and stayed there for almost seven years, learning the language and culture. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
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