Bizarre footage has emerged from China of an alleged thief walking into the security room in a mall and asking for a drink of water, during the apparently robbery.

The CCTV clip was captured in a shopping centre in Jinan, Shandong Province last week and shows the man sneaking about, allegedly stealing money from some of the stores.

He later goes to the security room and asks for water, but the guards had been keeping an eye on him and promptly handed him over to police.