Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou announced at a special press conference yesterday that a gambling quartet cheated a casino out of HK$123,000.
Lei said that three members of the foursome had been detained while one still remained at large at the time of the press conference. Lei identified the three members caught by the police as a 30-year-old local female croupier surnamed Chan and two 36-year-old male mainlanders surnamed Liu and Li.
Lei pointed out that Li and Liu are friends, while Chan had only met them a month before they were caught by the police.
According to Lei, the suspects first struck on July 2, when Li placed a late bet of HK$3,000 after baccarat results had been announced, with Chan, the croupier, nevertheless accepting his bet and paying out the winnings. Their second offence occurred on July 7, when the fugitive suspect placed a HK$ 60,000 bet, after which Chan moved the chips to the table’s winning section, resulting in a HK$120,000 payout.
Lei said the case came to light after the casino had recently detected the fraud and reported it to the Judicial Police. A total of HK$118,300 was seized from the suspects, though police believe that similar, still undetected offences may have been committed by the quartet. The casino’s confirmed losses stand at HK$123,000.
Lei said that when the police busted the quartet they still had not divided the loot. PJ officers seized HK$70,000 from Liu, HK$37,000 and chips worth HK$11,300 from Li.
The three suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further questioning, facing fraud charges. Lei said the Judiciary Police were continuing their investigations into the case.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspects Chan, Li and Liu to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
