A man from the mainland was arrested this week for reporting a false case to the police last Friday, according to a Public Security Police (PSP) statement on Wednesday.
The suspect is in his thirties surnamed Yuan.
According to the statement, a man (Yuan) reported to the Public Security Police last Friday evening a theft case in a hotel guestroom in Taipa and reported a loss of HK$50,000. Yuan told the police that he met a man surnamed Miao in a casino of a resort hotel in Cotai earlier that day. The duo went to take a rest in the guestroom later that day. Yuan claimed that when he woke up, he discovered that Miao had left the room, leaving a note in the room as well as a message on his smartphone saying that he had “stolen” HK$50,000 in cash from the pocket of his jacket.
PSP officers scrutinised the hotel’s CCTV footage and information provided by Yuan. However, the officers were unable to see Miao in last Friday’s footage, or anything suspicious. Confronted by the police, Yuan admitted that he reported a false theft case to the police. He told the police that he met Miao in the casino last Thursday and Miao asked to borrow HK$50,000 from him to gamble. Miao promised to repay him later that day. However, Miao gambled away all the money so they went to the hotel guestroom to discuss the repayment. The duo made an agreement that Miao would write Yuan a note and send a message to his smartphone that he had stolen the HK$50,000 in cash. According to their deal, if Miao failed to repay him, Yuan could report the false case to the police who would trace Miao for him so that he could get back the money. However, Yuan worried that Miao would leave Macau so he decided to report the false case to the police, the statement said, adding that the Public Security Police were still looking for Miao at the time of Wednesday’s statement.
Yuan has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a charge of reporting a false case to the police, according to Article 330 of the Macau Penal Code, according to the police, facing up to one year behind bars.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Wednesday shows PSP officers escorting the suspect to a police station in Taipa.
