Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This is the moment a millionaire businessman spots a petowner’s cute dog by the side of the road and dognaps it by forcing the pooch into his pricey BMW.

Businessman Mr Lin had been visiting the city of Chuzhou in East China’s Anhui Province when he stole the Samoyed dog from the front of its owners’ home on 28th October.

Samoyed owner Mr Sheng reported the pooch missing later the same day.

He said: “I bought it in October 2018 as a gift for my wife.

“It was heartbreaking when it went missing. We cried every time we thought of it.”

Mr Sheng’s dog was purchased as a pup for 1,300 RMB (145 GBP).

Investigators with Tianchang Police Station inspected CCTV images outside Mr Sheng’s home which revealed a BMW with Yangzhou City plates from neighbouring Jiangsu Province.

In the video, businessman Mr Lin can be seen petting the dog before forcing the pooch into the back of his BMW.

He later drove the dog back to his own home in Yangzhou, the police said.

When Mr Lin was summoned, he admitted to taking the dog but said he thought the pooch – worth over 20,000 RMB (2,200 GBP) for pups from champion litters – was a stray with no owner.

But investigators doubted Mr Lin’s claims, saying the pooch could not have been mistaken for a stray because it had just been groomed and was very clean.

Mr Lin also appeared to panic as he nicked the pooch, they noted.

The man, whose business is worth tens of millions of Renminbi – or millions of pounds sterling, reportedly admitted to dognapping and was handed seven days’ detention.

He was also fined 500 RMB (55 GBP).

The authorities said Mr Sheng and his wife were reunited with their Samoyed soon after.

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