Police in the southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang have connected a suspect who allegedly kept a crime diary to four separate cases of theft, an official social media account for the city’s public security bureau announced Tuesday.

According to the announcement, authorities discovered the diary of “crime details” and “life reflections” on Friday while searching the suspect’s home for items stolen in a burglary committed the week before. On March 9, the suspect — surnamed Zhou — allegedly entered a victim’s house in the city’s Yunyan District and stole property worth about 2,000 yuan ($300). Police arrested Zhou Friday after several days of investigation into the incident.

The diary includes entries dated from January to March of this year, which Zhou said he had written to record his “daily stealing accomplishments” as well as words of self-encouragement, according to the announcement.

A photo of a single page in the diary shows multiple handwritten entries dated to the end of January. The first, dated Jan. 27, reads, “working day, gold 3 grams, laptop one, Y35A [Vivo smartphone], iron 25 kilograms.” An entry dated the following day says the author had not been “working” enough. “I know you are tired, stressed, pained, and confused,” the entry reads. “If you think you are going to break down, ask yourself: Do you want to live like this for the rest of your life?”

Entries dated Jan. 29 and 30 record thefts of 0.2 grams of gold, 1,734 yuan in cash, and a Huawei cellphone, according to the photo.

According to police, Zhou said that he had planned to save 100,000 yuan by 2020 through selling off stolen items, but that this goal had been hampered in part by an online gambling addiction.

Tuesday’s announcement also said that Zhou already has a criminal record for burglary and that the case is under further investigation.

Editor: Layne Flower.

(Image: Moment/VCG)