Beijing, Dec 22 (IANS/EFE): Chinese police have arrested a man in the autonomous region of Guangxi in southern China who stole 2,000 sets of lingerie from his neighbours and hid them in the false ceiling of the staircase of his apartment, the South China Morning Post reported Monday.
The residents of Yulin city were surprised to discover that the lingerie sets that had disappeared mysteriously from their homes months before appeared lined up outside their residential complex.
However, it was not the thief who was responsible for lining up the stolen lingerie sets but the investigators who ordered this to count the number of stolen items.
The police report said that the man's modus operandi was to hide the stolen items in a false ceiling of the stair case of his apartment building.
The hideout came to light when one of the roofs gave way under the weight of the underwear and several sets of bras and panties fell to the floor.
Several images taken by the Chinese newspaper show the thief had no particular preference for a lingerie type and stole all kinds, from the simplest white to patterned panties and the most sophisticated lace pieces.
Lingerie thefts are widely reported by the media in China where the crime is apparently on the increase.
Recently, a 22-year-old man was arrested a month after stealing 17 pairs of panties from different women.
That same month, the police arrested another man for stealing and using women's underwear.