A man from Hong Kong was arrested on Sunday at a local quarantine hotel for cheating a local woman out of HK$680,000 in 2019 puportedly to buy a stake in a Hong Kong mahjong parlour, Lei Hon Nei Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old suspect surnamed Yam told the police that he works as an assistant in a mahjong parlour in Yau Ma Tei.
According to Lei, the woman reported to the Judiciary Police on December 9 last year that she was cheated by a Hong Kong man surnamed Yam who told her in November 2019 that he would be buying a mahjong parlour in Yau Ma Tei in Hong Kong for HK$1.2 million. Yam asked her to buy a stake in the business for HK$680,000.
Lei said the victim agreed to buy the stake and gave Yam HK$680,000 without signing any documents. Since May last year the victim had been unable to contact the suspect.
The victim grew suspicious and called the mahjong parlour to enquire about the deal. The parlour’s person-in-charge told her they did not plan to sell their business, after which the victim reported the case to the police.
According to Lei, PJ officers identified Yam as the suspect and discovered that he left Macau on October 20 last year. The police discovered that he had re-entered Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint on October 10. The Public Security Police transferred Yam to the Judiciary Police on Sunday after he had completed his 14-day quarantine. Under questioning, Yam denied committing the crime. The Judiciary Police are continuing their investigation into the case, namely the whereabouts of the HK$680,000.
Yam has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge, according to Lei.
