A man who stole 20,000 yuan ($3,270) from the home of a stranger, where he left an IOU with his name, address and cell phone number on it, has been arrested in Zhejiang province.

The man, identified only as Peng, from Sichuan province, has been in Yiwu, Zhejiang, for two years. This month, his parents asked him to send money home to Sichuan for them to build a house.

Peng, who was in financial difficulties, headed to the home of a fellow Sichuanese in a village to borrow money, but went to the home of a man, surnamed Qin, from Henan province, by mistake. As nobody was at home, Peng took the money from a drawer and left the IOU.

When Qin returned home, he could not remember lending money to Peng, a total stranger. After Qin reported the theft to police, they rang the cell phone number on the IOU and arrested Peng.

He told police he did not think he had broken the law by leaving an IOU, Qianjiang Evening News reported.