A man from the Chinese mainland was arrested on Friday for robbing a middle-aged mainland woman of HK$200,000 (206,000 patacas) in chips, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a special press conference on Sunday.
Chao identified the suspect as a 31-year-old male surnamed Luo who claimed to be jobless.
According to Chao, the victim was gambling at a casino in Cotai early Friday morning when Luo approached her and invited her to his hotel guestroom “for tea and a chat”, to which the victim agreed, taking with her the HK$200,000 in chips she had won.
Chao noted that once inside the room, Luo suddenly attacked the victim with a glass bottle, striking her on the neck. He then restrained her by putting her in a headlock and punching her in the face, causing her to fall and briefly lose consciousness. Luo dragged her to the bathroom, where he bound her with clear tape that he had prepared in advance and locked her mobile phone in the room’s safe to prevent her from escaping or contacting the police. He then fled the scene with the victim’s HK$200,000 in chips.
Chao added that about an hour later, the victim regained consciousness and was able to seek assistance from security guards in the hotel lobby, where she spotted Luo again. The guards apprehended Luo on the spot and immediately notified the police. The police were able to recover the victim’s mobile phone from the safe. The victim sustained multiple injuries to her face, eyes, jaw, and neck.
Chao said that Luo had come up with the idea of committing robbery after gambling away all his money and had prepared the tape to be used as binding beforehand. Luo also gambled away all the HK$200,000 in chips that he had stolen.
Luo has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a robbery charge.
Police arrest 2 mainlanders for robbery, but victim faces probe for illegal currency exchange
Meanwhile, the Judiciary Police (PJ) apprehended two men from the Chinese mainland for robbing a middle-aged mainland man of HK$1.4 million in cash in an illegal currency exchange deal, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a special press conference on Friday.
Chao identified the suspects as a 28-year-old businessman surnamed Gao and 29-year-old businessman surnamed Wang.
According to Chao, the victim told the police that he learnt from a friend on Wednesday about an offer to sell a gold chain for HK$60,000. Interested in purchasing the chain, the victim arranged to meet the seller in a hotel lobby in Cotai.
Chao noted that the victim followed Gao into a hotel guestroom, where Huang was waiting inside. The victim claimed that Huang presented a gold necklace for inspection, at which point Gao suddenly restrained him from behind, trapping him in a headlock. The duo overpowered the victim, who attempted to fight back but was unsuccessful. They bound his limbs with a hotel bathrobe belt, confining him to the room. Afterwards, they took the victim’s backpack, which contained HK$1.4 million in cash, and fled the scene.
Chao added that the victim quickly managed to free himself and pursued the suspects to the lift area in the hotel corridor, where a struggle ensued, alerting hotel security guards who intervened and later reported the case to the police. Chao said that the victim sustained injuries to his neck, mouth, and the right side of his abdomen.
However, the police discovered that the victim had withheld information about the case. The police discovered that during the robbery, the victim and the duo were actually engaging in illegal currency exchange activities, and that the story about the “gold chain purchase” was believed to have been fabricated by the victim, while the robbery did indeed take place.
The police later recovered the stolen HK$1.4 million in cash. Under questioning, both suspects refused to cooperate.
The duo have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), each facing a robbery charge.
Chao said that the police would launch a separate investigation into the robbery victim’s false claim, considering that he had actually participated in the two robbery suspects’ illegal currency exchange deal.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded robbery suspect in the first case to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape on Sunday. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the two hooded robbery suspects in the second case to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape on Friday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
