A former University of Wisconsin student staff member pled not guilty to nine counts of theft, two of which were felonies, Thursday in an initial court appearance.

Feng Bian, commonly known as Peter Bian, a former UW student and temporary lab technician in the School of Veterinary Medicine, was arrested multiple times over the last two years for stealing items from his place of work.

The items he allegedly stole from the Veterinary Medicine teaching building included several Dell computer monitors, approximately eight stethoscopes, digital cameras, a pair of clip-in biking shoes and a $4,000 watch, according to the police report.

After several months of ongoing investigation the case broke when a friend of Bian’s contacted UW Police Department, reporting Bian had asked to store a number of items at his house, as he was running out of room at his own.

Bian’s former friend, Alejandro Obando, turned these items over to police who confirmed they were among the items reported stolen.

During a police interview, Obando indicated his friendship with Bian had dissolved over the past several months, saying Bian was a liar and he could not trust him anymore.

When Bian was apprehended for an interview in early September, he admitted to stealing the items reported as well as others.

When asked why he had stolen these items, the report says he responded he did not know, he just has a tendency of taking things, and indicated he was a kleptomaniac.

When asked about the specific items he stole, he said he could not explain why; the computer monitors he stole did not go with his house, and the shoes he took did not fit him.

Other items Bian returned to police as stolen that were never reported included large animal surgical instruments, one female’s high-heeled shoe and miscellaneous articles of clothing.

When UW learned of the reports of his activities, the school initiated an investigation and terminated him from his position in the School of Veterinary Medicine in September, UW spokesperson John Lucas said in a e-mail to The Badger Herald.

Bian said he was sort of glad he had been caught and knew it was only a matter of time.