The Judiciary Police separately arrested two men from the mainland on Tuesday for engaging in illegal currency exchange deals, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the 47-year-old man surnamed Ling is the owner of a restaurant.
According to Chao, PJ officers on patrol saw Ling providing an illegal currency exchange deal to a male gambler in a casino in Cotai on Tuesday. The gambler transferred 4,850 yuan through scanning the QR code provided by Ling, while Ling handed over chips worth HK$5,000 to the gambler. Ling and the gambler were caught red-handed. The gambler then turned witness in the case. Under questioning, Ling admitted to engaging in illegal currency exchange activities since September, having earned 60,000 yuan (66,270 patacas) in total. The police seized HK$8,000 in chips and HK$320,000 from Ling, along with the chips worth HK$5,000 found on the gambler.
In the second case, the 40-year-old man surnamed Zheng told the police that he is jobless.
According to Chao, the police received a report about an illegal currency exchange activity from a casino in Cotai on Tuesday. Security staff of the casino discovered Zheng providing an illegal currency exchange deal to a male gambler. Zheng was apprehended by the security staff and transferred to the police; the gambler cooperated as witness in the investigation. Under questioning, Zheng admitted to exchanging chips worth HK$3,000 with the gambler for 2,880 yuan. Zheng also admitted to having engaged in illegal currency exchange activities repeatedly this month, earning a total profit of HK$3,000. The police have seized two mobile phones, HK$33,000 in chips and HK$2,000 in total.
The suspects in the two cases have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing illegal currency exchange charges.
