Taipei  - A Taiwanese handbag thief who tried to withdraw cash from his victim's bank account was caught in the act by the victim's daughter, who happened to work at the bank branch.

Taipei police said Chang Shih-chun, 55, broke into the house of a retired teacher Tuesday and stole her handbag containing some cash, a bank book and an ink seal used by the victim to stamp her signature when withdrawing money.

The suspect went to the bank Wednesday morning, filled out a withdrawal slip and stamped the victim's seal to try to take out all 494,900 Taiwan dollars (14,386 US dollars) from her bank account, a police officer said.

When a perplexed bank colleague asked the victim's daughter why her mother sent a stranger to withdraw the money, she immediately called police who arrested the suspect.

"Of so many branch offices of the bank, the suspect happened to pick the same branch where the victim's daughter worked," the officer said. (dpa)