A burglary suspect was caught on Thursday evening when fleeing Shanghai, just six hours after committing an alleged crime, police said on Friday.

The suspect, a man surnamed Zhang, allegedly burgled an apartment in a residential complex in Putuo District at about 2pm on Thursday.

He quickly walked away with a phone after hearing footsteps outside, police said.

The resident of the apartment found the lock to the door had been breached and immediately reported it to police.

Putuo police soon identified the suspect and sent a wanted notice through the police network.

At about 7:40pm, Zhang was caught on the K511 train at Songjiang Railway Station, bound for Hangzhou.

Hu Zunxuan, a police officer at the Songjiang Station Police Station of Shanghai Railway Police, told Shanghai Daily that a wanted suspect who has been identified will be discovered within 30 minutes from the moment he or she purchases a railway ticket.

The suspect is a repeat offender, police said.