A mainlander was arrested on Monday for using fake casino chips to cheat a casino and gamblers out of HK$190,000 last October, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said at a special press conference yesterday.
The 51-year-old jobless suspect surnamed Zhou is from Jiangsu province.
According to Chan, a casino in the city centre reported to the police on October 26 last year that their staff discovered fake cash chips. PJ officers seized 24 chips worth HK$5,000 each from several roulette tables, nine chips from the cage, and five chips from four gamblers who won the chips while they were gambling in the casino, involving a total loss of HK$190,000.
After scrutinising the casino’s CCTV footage, PJ officers identified two suspects, including Zhou. At about 8 a.m. on October 26 last year, the duo exchanged the fake chips into genuine chips in smaller denominations at different gaming tables. Afterwards, they took the genuine chips to the casino cage to exchange them for cash. After realising at about 6 p.m. on that day that the casino management had discovered the fake chips, the duo made a quick exit from the casino and returned to the mainland via the Barrier Gate checkpoint, Chan said.
PJ officers discovered Zhou entered Macau through the Barrier Gate checkpoint last Friday and arrested him on Monday morning when he was about to go into another casino in the city centre, according to Chan.
Under questioning, Zhou admitted to committing the crime. He confessed that he had bought 150 counterfeit chips for 60,000 yuan from an online store in the mainland. Zhou told the police that he and an accomplice took 100 fake chips to the casino on October 26 to exchange for cash.
After returning to the mainland, they dumped all the counterfeit chips. Zhou said that they had deposited HK$90,000 of the ill-gotten money into their bank accounts in the mainland and had spent the remaining money, according to Chan.
Chan said PJ officers found on Zhou two laser labels printed with two local casino’s names on them, adding that the labels have been sent to the Forensic Science Department for inspection.
According to Chan, Zhou refused to cooperate with the police, and refused to disclose where the two laser labels came from and what their purpose is. The Judiciary Police believe that Zhou was preparing to commit another crime in Macau this time. The police are continuing their investigation to trace the whereabouts of the ill-gotten money and believe that at least one suspect is still on the run.
Zhou was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday morning, facing a fraud charge involving a considerable amount, officially defined as exceeding 150,000 patacas, according to Chan.
The hooded fraud suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday.
Photos of evidence seized from the suspect such as fake chips and two lazer labels are displayed during yesterday’s special press conference at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters.
Photos: Iong Tat Choi
