Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a special press conference yesterday that a man and two women from the mainland have been arrested for their involvement in two separate “practice banknote” deception cases, swindling two victims out of a total of 460,000 yuan (521,000 patacas) in online bank transfers.
The suspect in the first case is a 32-year-old male surnamed Song.
According to Chan, Song arranged on Saturday a deal with a mainland male visitor at a Cotai hotel. The agreement entailed the victim transferring 279,000 yuan to an account designated by Song who was to provide the victim with HK$300,000 in cash in return. The victim transferred the agreed amount to Song through online banking, while Song gave the victim stacks of cash.
The victim promptly discovered that all the inner notes were practice notes instead and reported the case to the police. Song was arrested at the hotel lobby
In the second case, the two female suspects, both in their twenties, are surnamed Liu and He. Liu claimed to be an illegal money exchange dealer, while He told the police that she’s a university student.
According to Chan, a mainland male visitor faced a similar fraud case on Saturday after striking a deal with He, arranged by Liu, in a Cotai hotel. The victim was cheated out of 187,000 yuan.
Under questioning, Song and He admitted to the crime. Additionally, the two suspects individually said that they had been offered a “commission” of 6,500 yuan as an incentive for successfully completing the transactions. However, both said they had not received the money yet. Meanwhile, Liu denied the accusation, claiming that she was merely an intermediary and not involved in the case.
The three suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing fraud charges, Chan 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. Practice banknotes are not legal tender.
Evidence such as practice banknotes seized by the Judiciary Police (PJ) is displayed at the PJ headquarters yesterday. – Photo: William Chan
