A local woman was arrested after three local women fell for her currency exchange scam, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chong identified the suspect as a 32-year-old purchasing agent surnamed Ip. The three victims, who were introduced to Ip by friends of theirs, are colleagues aged between 41 and 45 working as sales assistants.
According to Chong, the victims had successfully exchanged currencies in the past year several times with Ip, and last Monday Ip told the victims that she was offering an exchange rate of HK$100 for 90 yuan (105 patacas). The three women believed her and together transferred a total of HK$260,000 to her bank account.
After the transfers, the victims did not receive the money and reported the case to the police. Police intercepted Ip at the Hengqin checkpoint on Thursday when she was attempting to leave Macau.
Under questioning, Ip admitted to cheating the victims and claimed that she had gambled away all the ill-gotten money.
Ip was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing fraud charges, Chong said.
