A local middle-aged man has lost HK$164,000 (169,200 patacas) in a purported proxy order to buy the expensive “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” (佛跳牆) delicacy, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said in a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Lei, the man is the owner of an engineering company. On Friday, a staff member of his company received a hidden number call, in which the caller claimed to be a “teacher named Yang” from a certain university, saying that there was an engineering project pending. The caller contacted the man through WhatsApp and they arranged to meet at the university on Monday afternoon.
On Monday morning, the caller claimed that the school’s upcoming charity event required the supply of the traditional “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” dish but there was a conflict with the supplier. He asked the man to order 40 units of “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” costing HK$114,000 on behalf of the school. The caller provided a bank account of a “supplier named Lam” in Hong Kong. The man’s Hong Kong friend, Lo, transferred HK$ 114,000 to the account on his behalf.
The caller then requested an additional order of 80 units of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, totalling HK$228,000, and provided a screenshot showing a “transfer of HK$342,000 to the man’s account”. Lo then transferred a further HK$50,000 to the account as requested by the man, suspecting that “something was amiss”.
However, the caller did not show up at the agreed time. The man contacted the university and discovered that there was no such person working there. The victim suspected that he had been scammed and reported the total loss of HK$164,000 to the police on Tuesday.
June 2006 file photo of a bowl of “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” – Photo courtesy of SunSuke/Wikimedia Commons
