Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said in a regular press briefing yesterday that a man from the mainland has been arrested for his involvement in a “practice banknote” deception case, scamming the victim out of a total of 482,000 yuan (525,000 patacas) in online bank transfers.
The suspect is a 32-year-old man surnamed Qiao. He told the police that he’s a businessman.
According to Lei, Qiao struck a deal with a male mainlander on Monday in a Cotai hotel room, according to which he was to transfer 482,000 yuan to Qiao, while Qiao was to hand HK$500,000 in cash to the victim in return. After the victim transferred the yuan to Qiao through online banking, Qiao immediately attempted to leave the scene after handing the victim stacks of banknotes.
The victim immediately discovered that they were actually HK$1,000 practice banknotes and reported the case to the police. Qiao was arrested at the hotel room soon after.
Under questioning, he claimed that he had been hired by “some people” from the mainland to carry out the swindle in Macau and was promised a payment of HK$5,000 if he had successfully completed the transaction.
Qiao has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office, facing a fraud charge, Lei said.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the practice notes and a mobile phone.
