Cheats 2 men out of 500,000 patacas by pretending to be a girl
A local man was arrested on Sunday for using forged documents claiming to be a local civil servant to cheat 30 Hong Kong women, while his local wife was arrested on Monday for document forgery, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said at a special press conference yesterday.
The 25-year-old husband surnamed Chan told the police that he is a lorry driver. His 23-year-old jobless wife is surnamed Wu.
According to Choi, the Judiciary Police received a report on Friday from the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) that a Hong Kong woman had asked the anti-graft body for information about a man claiming to be a Macau civil servant who had even shown her his staff card and internal documents of a Macau government department through a social app.
Choi said the Judiciary Police believe he showed the woman his purported local government staff card and internal documents to gain her trust.
Choi said that the Judiciary Police found out that Chan’s government staff card and the internal documents were forged. They also confirmed that Chan was not a civil servant. Chan returned from Hong Kong to Macau by car on April 4, after which he went into quarantine in line with the government’s COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Chan was arrested when he completed his quarantine on Sunday.
According to Choi, PJ officers seized from Chan and his car the forged government staff card and internal documents as well as a bogus university degree certificate. They also seized his laptop and smartphone where they discovered digital files containing the fake documents. Chan admitted that he purchased the forged government staff card, documents and degree certificate through online apps.
Choi said the Judiciary Police arrested Wu, Chan’ wife, on Monday at the couple’s home in Fai Chi Kei and seized three forged documents comprising a non-resident worker permit and two Exit-Entry Permits for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (colloquially known as Two-way permit). Wu told the police that she bought the forged permits in Zhuhai to make her “parallel trading” activities more convenient.
Parallel trade is the cross-border sale of goods by traders outside of the respective manufacturer’s distribution system without the manufacturer’s consent.
According to Choi, the Judiciary Police confirmed that the Hong Kong woman who had reported the case to the CCAC was one of Chan’s “girlfriends.” Chan admitted that he had met 30 Hong Kong women through his smartphone chat app since 2019, telling them that he was a civil servant in Macau, and that four of them became his girlfriends. He also admitted that he forwarded the forged work permits and documents to the 30 women to earn their trust.
Bogus HK airport staff card
Choi said Chan even obtained a forged Hong Kong airport staff card and told his wife that he was working at the airport but was actually meeting his girlfriends in Hong Kong.
According to Choi, the Judiciary Police also discovered that Chan even pretended to be a “girl” on the internet a few years ago and defrauded two local men out of 500,000 patacas in an online dating scam. One of the male victims in his twenties told the police that he was cheated out of 300,000 patacas five years ago. The victim told the police that the “girl” wanted to borrow the money from him to help “her” family raise money because of financial difficulties.
The couple were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday. Chan faces charges of fraud, document and computer forgery and other offences, while Wu faces document forgery charges, according to Choi.
Choi said that the number of online scam cases has risen recently. He urged the public to be aware of online dating scams particularly if the “date” requests money. He also reminded the public to be wary of, and carefully analyse online investment messages, and not to trust any investment or wealth management companies with an unknown background. Residents should conduct investment transactions only through legal financial institutions to avoid becoming fraud victims, Choi said.
The hooded forgery couple are escorted by the Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the two suspects such as a laptop, three smartphones and a forged degree certificate is displayed at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday.
