A 26-year-old illegal male currency exchange dealer from the mainland robbed HK$780,000 from a fellow gang member in a guestroom of a hotel in Cotai on Thursday after he had gambled away HK$400,000 he had planned to use in a currency-exchange business, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a special press conference on Friday.
Ho said that the Judiciary Police received a report from the hotel through a notification mechanism with the hotel industry at 7 p.m. on Thursday about the case.
The victim, who is in his twenties and also from the mainland, told the police who arrived at the scene that at the request of the suspect, surnamed Cheng, he took about HK780,000 in cash to a guestroom to be exchanged into yuan at about 6 p.m. that day, adding that when he was counting the money, he was suddenly punched in the head by Cheng, who then took the money and fled the scene after the victim fight back, according to Ho. Both the victim and suspect were injured in the fight.
A PJ investigation found that after the robbery Cheng had hidden in the sitting-out area outside the hotel, during which a woman treated his injuries and provided him with a new set of clothes so that he could take off his bloodstained clothing, before both got into a taxi, Ho said, pointing out that after receiving the report from the hotel just two and a half hours later, PJ officers arrested the duo and recovered the stolen money from another guestroom of a hotel in Taipa.
Under questioning, Cheng told the police that the woman who treated his injuries was his 27-year-old sister, who came to Macau with him three days before the robbery to engage in the illegal currency-exchange business, claiming that he robbed his fellow gang member because of his gambling loss, according to Ho.
Both Chengs were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Friday, facing robbery and aiding and abetting charges respectively.
The hooded male robbery suspect from the mainland is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape on Friday.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
