Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by Jiangsu TV

A construction worker in East China's Jiangsu Province has illegally profited 40,000 yuan (6,000 dollars) from stealing over 500 manhole covers, and used the money to reward internet camgirls, said Jiangsu TV.

The suspect, surnamed Fan, started stealing in Nanjing, Jiangsu, since March and sold the stolen covers to a waste-recycling site, said the report.

Fan's illegal act didn't catch attention until the construction company he worked at reported that 17 manhole covers had gone missing. 

The police then locked a silver van that frequently appeared near the construction site at night through surveillance cameras.

"We noticed (a silver van) had constantly driven in and out of the construction site from 1 am to 4 am almost every night. And the car is easy to spot as it has two distinctive taillights. One is brighter and the other dimmer," the police reported.

The car belongs to Fan, who denied the accusation at first and didn't admit until the police discovered a string of online transactions through Fan's phone between him and a fixed transaction account, which belonged to the waste recycler surnamed Zheng.

"Fan got paid by Zheng, and (the car owner Fan) used the money to reward an online female video game streamer," added the police. "In June alone, Fan spent more than 10,000 yuan from his account." 

The amount clearly exceeded his average monthly salary.

Fan and Zheng have both been detained, said the police.

"Zheng was aware of the municipal logo on the manhole covers when he did the recycling. Now he has been detained for concealing Fan's criminal proceeds," added the police officer in Nanjing police station.