Thief rappelled into homes with fire hose

Police have arrested a man suspected of breaking into high-rise apartments in Jiading district by rappelling down the side of the buildings with a rooftop fire hose, the Xinmin Evening News reported Wednesday.

Police said the suspect, surnamed Liu, 22, had broken into 28 homes since last August, making off with 200,000 yuan ($32,540) worth of valuables, including jewelry, watches and laptops, according to a press release from the Jiading District Public Security Bureau.

"This was the first time we have dealt with this kind of burglary," said Xu Bo, a press officer with the Jiading police. "It is kind of dangerous. Most burglars use safer methods."

Most burglars are content to pick locks or climb through low windows, Xu told the Global Times.

The rash of burglaries initially baffled investigators. On April 10, a burglar broke into the apartment of a resident surnamed Li and stole 7,000 yuan in cash, along with some gold jewelry and jade. The perpetrator left few clues inside for police to follow. For example, the apartment's anti-theft metal door, which had several sophisticated locks, was undamaged. However, police did find that someone had cut a 10-meter length of fire hose from its rooftop container, which has been forced open. Investigators figured that the burglar was using fire hoses or clothes lines to lower himself from the rooftop.

Police said the suspect would usually break into homes between 2 pm and 5 pm, when most people were at work, and preferred apartments with open bathroom windows.

Police got a break in the case in April after one victim reported that the burglar stole a red shopping bag along with her valuables. The investigators combed the residential complex's surveillance footage for people carrying red bags and found Liu. They arrested him the next day when he returned to the complex.

Police warned that burglars could take advantage of high-rise rooftops because few people go up there and urged residents to be wary.