A local jobless man claimed to the police that he had been scammed by a gambler, but it turned out he was a loan shark who lent money to the gambler, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference on Wednesday.
According to Leng, the 35-year-old loan shark, surnamed Lei, reported to the police on Monday that a male gambler pretended he wanted to exchange yuan to Hong Kong dollars but scammed him out of HK$200,000 at a casino in Cotai. Leng noted that on Tuesday, the police were able to locate the gambler, and he told the police that Lei was actually a loan shark who lent him HK$200,000. Leng said that the gambler claimed that in return Lei demanded 20 percent “interest” from him if he won at the gaming tables. Leng added that the loan shark even asked the gambler to sign an IOU.
Leng said that according to the CCTV recordings at the casino in Cotai, the loan shark did lend money to the gambler, and there was no evidence that the former had been scammed. However, Leng added, Lei denied the accusation and insisted that he had been scammed. The case was still under investigation at the time of the press conference.
Leng said that as the evidence shows that Lei committed false testimony and was involved in usury, he has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP).
