A local man was arrested yesterday morning for defrauding a mainland man out of 200,000 yuan (245,800 patacas) in a construction project in Zape, and using forged documents to illegally hire 17 workers from the mainland to work in Macau, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said at a special press conference yesterday.
The 54-year-old local suspect surnamed Vong told the police that he is a businessman.
According to Leng, a 40-year-old mainland man reported to the Judiciary Police in December 2019 that he had been defrauded by a local man out of 200,000 yuan who persuaded him to invest in a construction project earlier that year. The victim told the police that he met Vong through a friend in June 2019. Vong told him that he was the person-in-charge of a construction engineering company which would start a construction project in Zape. Due to insufficient funds, he persuaded the victim to invest in this project and look for mainlanders to work on the site in Macau. The victim then invested 300,000 yuan and introduced 17 mainlanders to Vong who told him that he would arrange all the necessary employment documents for the workers.
After more than a month, a security guard at the construction site discovered that the “blue card” of one of the workers was counterfeit.
Leng said the fraud victim then contacted the Macau Identification Services Bureau (DSI) and discovered that all the “blue cards” (non-resident workers’ ID cards) and construction safety cards held by the 17 workers were forged. The victim asked Vong about the issue. Vong then returned 100,000 yuan to the victim who later reported the case to the police.
According to Leng, PJ officers went to Vong’s home in the northern district last November and discovered more than 90 forged documents in his computer records. After investigating the case the Judiciary Police told Vong to report to a police station yesterday morning for further questioning, but Vong refused to cooperate with the police, Leng said.
According to Leng, the Judiciary Police also discovered that all the workers had entered Macau with valid travel documents but were not permitted to seek gainful employment in Macau. Leng said that the workers did not know that they were working illegally in Macau. Some of them told the police that Vong had charged 2,000 yuan per person for purported employment documentation fees and had paid them a daily salary of 600 yuan. The Judiciary Police are continuing their investigation into the case.
Vong was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday afternoon, facing document forgery charges, according to Leng.
The hooded suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters to a vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the suspect such as three computer CPUs, a forged Macau ID card, three forged home return permits, two forged non-resident worker ID cards (“blue cards”) and five forged construction safety cards, is displayed at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday.
