Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference on Monday that a man from the mainland has been arrested for his involvement in a “practice banknote” deception case, scamming the victim out of 190,000 yuan (209,000 patacas) in online bank transfers.
The suspect is a 37-year-old surnamed Huang. He told the police that he’s jobless.
According to Chong, last Thursday Huang arranged a deal with a mainland male visitor in the lobby of a Cotai hotel. The agreement entailed the victim transferring 190,000 yuan to an account designated by Huang, while Huang was to provide the victim with HK$200,000 cash in return. Once the victim completed the yuan transfer to Huang through online banking, he handed over stacks of banknotes to the victim.
Upon immediate inspection, the victim realised that only the banknote on the top of the stack was genuine, while the rest were all HK$1,000 practice banknotes. The victim promptly reported the incident to the police. Subsequently, Huang was apprehended at the hotel. Police seized more than 200 practice notes from Huang.
Under questioning, Huang claimed that he had been hired by “someone” from the mainland to carry out the scheme in Macau. He also said that he had been promised a “commission” of 10,000 yuan if he would have successfully completed the deal.
Huang has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge, Chong said.
A practice banknote is generally similar in size, shape and colour to circulating banknotes. It is used for training bank tellers, cashiers and staff at currency exchanges, according to Wikipedia.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Monday shows the practice notes, a backpack and two mobile phones.
