A local man has been arrested for defrauding about 100 mainlanders by claiming that he could help them get a local work permit (colloquially known as “blue card”) or a South Korean work visa, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said in a special conference yesterday.
Chong said that the 32-year-old suspect surnamed Lok told the police that he’s jobless.
According to Chong, three male mainland non-resident workers (NRWs) reported to the police separately in January and February that they had been defrauded by Lok. They had been introduced to him by friends, and Lok claimed that he could arrange local and South Korean construction jobs for their family members and friends, paying a daily wage of 650 to 800 patacas. However, he demanded payment of 2,500 to 3,500 patacas for each application, promising to pay the NRWs a “commission” of 500 patacas per application.
The three NRWs transferred a total of 340,000 patacas to Lok via online transfer to obtain blue cards and South Korean work visas for around 100 of their family members and friends, Chong said. However, Lok kept delaying the process, citing excuses such as the inability to purchase air tickets or COVID-19 related issues. The victims lost contact with Lok in June 2022.
Lok was arrested on Tuesday when he entered Macau through the Barrier Gate checkpoint. Under questioning, he admitted to cheating the mainlanders, claiming that he had spent all the filthy lucre on his daily expenses.
Lok was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing a fraud charge, according to the Chong.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded local fraud suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: William Chan
