This archive report was first published on 1 October 2019.
On October 1, 2019, a peculiar incident unfolded in the Dutch city of Utrecht, where a small parrot became an unlikely arrestee after its owner was detained on suspicion of shoplifting.
When police arrested the suspect, they found the parrot perched on the owner's shoulder. Due to the lack of a bird cage, the feathered companion was placed in a police cell with a sandwich and water.
Police posted a picture of the parrot on Instagram, which was later reworked by a local news station to protect the bird's identity. The post humorously described the situation, stating that they 'recently arrested a suspect in a shoplifting case' and 'found a secret witness with feathers and a beak on the suspect's shoulder.'
However, the police's tongue-in-cheek remark about not having a bird cell or cage sparked a wave of witty comments on social media. Some joked that the parrot 'won't sing like a canary' and was 'denied bail because he's a flight risk.'
Despite the lighthearted atmosphere, the parrot's identity was even questioned, with some people believing it to be a dwarf parrot rather than a parakeet.
