A man from the mainland was arrested on Monday for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a special press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 38-year-old man surnamed Wang who told the police that he is jobless.
According to Lei, on Monday afternoon, PJ officers on patrol witnessed Wang engaging in an illegal currency exchange with a middle-aged male gambler at a casino in Nape. Wang presented a QR code for the gambler to transfer money, and after receiving the funds, he handed over HK$15,000 in chips to the gambler. After the deal, both Wang and the gambler left. The gambler then gambled away HK$4,000 before the police intercepted them separately. The gambler agreed to cooperate as a witness in the investigation.
Under questioning, Wang admitted to engaging in illegal currency exchange activities since mid-March, having earned a total profit of 4,000 yuan. He also told the police that he had exchanged HK$15,000 for 14,475 yuan and earned 300 yuan in the latest case. The police confiscated HK$51,500 in chips from Wang and HK$11,000 in chips from the gambler.
Wang was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing an illegal currency exchange charge, according to Lei.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded illegal currency exchange suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Ada Lei
