A thief prays before breaking a lock with a crowbar to steal charity money in a place of worship in Indonesia.

The moment on September 20 captured by a security camera at Masjid in Agam, West Sumatra Province, shows a motorcyclist arriving and entering the place while observing the situation.

The man in the baseball cap saw someone resting near the charity box. He went out to clean himself and went back into Masjid, took his bag and walked to the front.

The man is seen making movements like pretending to be praying, then acting after the other man leaves.

He took out an iron rod from his bag, then within two minutes he broke two locks and took all the money that was in the iron box. He put all the stolen money in his bag, then left the place.

The manager of the Masjid Darul Akhyar, Rajmal Khair Datuk said, the thief took all the alms money for 1.5 months, estimated at 700,000 rupiah or around 50 USD.

“We found out there was a theft a few hours later. We checked the CCTV but his face wasn’t clear, the license plate number of the motorbike was blurred," Datuk added.

The management has reported the theft to the police. The perpetrator whose identity has been identified has become a fugitive from the police.