A local man was arrested on Monday for cheating a friend out of HK$200,000 in a purported casino chips exchange investment, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said at a press conference yesterday.
The 41-year-old suspect surnamed Lei told the police that he works as a VIP room casino chips exchange staff. The male victim is a casino dealer who has known Lei for about 10 years.
According to Chan, the victim reported to the Judiciary Police on September 28 that he had been cheated by his friend (Lei) who told him to jointly invest in a casino chips exchange business in August 2019. Lei proposed the victim invest HK$200,000, while he would invest HK$400,000. The victim gave Lei HK$200,000 in cash in three parts between August 2019 and June this year. They also signed a “contract”. When the victim asked Lei about the investment progress in June, Lei said that he had already deposited the money in his VIP account and showed him a screenshot of a deposit slip. Lei later told the victim that the VIP room was unable to have any clients because of the COVID-19 pandemic and that he had used the money to invest in cryptocurrencies and promised to repay the victim on September 16. Afterwards, the victim was unable to contact Lei so he reported the case to the police.
Chan said that the Judiciary Police identified Lei as the suspect and arrested him when he was about to leave Macau via the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Monday. Under questioning, Lei denied that he had defrauded the victim. He claimed that as the VIP room was lacking clients because of the pandemic he lent the victim’s money to a friend who needed it urgently instead. However, the Judiciary Police discovered that Lei had not deposited any money in his VIP account and the screenshot of the deposit slip he showed the victim was fake. The Judiciary Police are continuing their investigation to trace the ill-gotten money.
Lei was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Tuesday, facing charges of fraud and computer fraud, according to Chan.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man looks on during yesterday’s press conference at the PJ headquarters. Photo: Camy Tam
