A woman in the Chinese city of Chongqing stole a coat from a local store last Wednesday (Nov 8) but was unhappy with the colour.

She then returned to the same shop the next day to steal another coat, but was caught by police who were investigating the first theft, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The middle-aged woman tried on a black coat, black shirt and a pair of black pants and left the store wearing them, leaving her own clothes in the fitting room, the Chongqing Business News reported.

A shop assistant realised the three items, worth a combined total of 1,000 yuan (S$207), were missing at the end of the day, and called the police the next morning.

As police were examining camera footage from the day before to identify the suspect, the same woman entered the shop and was captured on a live surveillance camera, reported SCMP.

She tried on a similar shirt and pants, but this time with a red down coat instead. When she tried to exit the store, she was apprehended by several policemen waiting outside.

She is now under detention, the report said.

The woman confessed to her misdeed and said she was trying to exchange the coat rather than steal both coats. She had placed the black coat in a shop next door and planned to return it after she had stolen the red one, she said.

Her reason for stealing the coats?

She had wanted a new coat to wear to the wedding of her nephew this week. However, her husband refused to give her money to buy one, so she decided to steal one, she said.