A local man has been arrested for trying to blackmail the owner of a lost phone that he had found in the street, Public Security Police (PSP) spokeswoman Lai In Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The suspect surnamed Chan is a waiter in his twenties.
According to Lai, a local woman lost her mobile phone near Avenida do Nordeste in Taipa on Sunday night and asked her friend to call her number, but it was not answered. Later, a man called back claiming to have found the phone and saying that he would return the phone provided that she paid him a “gratitude fee” of 500 patacas. The victim felt she was being blackmailed and reported the case to the police.
The next day, the victim, with plainclothes officers having set up a surveillance operation, met Chan on Escadaria de Iat Fai in Taipa. Chan handed over the phone and asked for the “gratitude fee”. When the victim refused, Chan became agitated and attempted to snatch the phone back, leading the plainclothes officers to spring into action and subdue him.
Chan has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a blackmail charge, according to Lai.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) shows two PSP officers escorting the extortion suspect to a police station.
