A local parallel trader was arrested for embezzling bird’s nests from a businessman who had hired him, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said during a press conference on Friday.
The 40-year-old suspect surnamed Zeng told the police that he’s jobless.
According to Lou, the 46-year-old victim hired Zeng in mid-November to carry 56 boxes of bird’s nests worth 280,000 patacas from Macau to the mainland through parallel trading, and promised to pay Zeng 300 yuan (348 patacas) per box delivered. The victim gave the bird’s nests to Zeng on November 17 at the Barrier Gate checkpoint when Zeng agreed to take the bird’s nests to Zhuhai the next day and to send them later to Fujian province.
Lou said that the bird’s nests were never delivered, and when the victim asked the whereabouts of the bird’s nests, Zeng initially said that he had lost contact with “his partner” who had been tasked with the transportation arrangements, but later he claimed that the bird’s nests had been “confiscated by customs officers”.
The victim eventually lost contact with Zeng and reported the case to the police.
Zeng was arrested on Wednesday when he went to a police station for a regular appearance concerning another case. Under questioning, he admitted taking the bird’s nests from the victim but refused to provide details about his “partner” and the whereabouts of the bird’s nests.
Zeng has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a charge of abuse of trust, Lou said.
