The Judiciary Police (PJ) busted two casino loan-sharking cases last week, arresting seven mainlanders, PJ spokesman Leng Kam Lon said at a special press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the four suspects are aged between 23 and 36 who told the police that they’re jobless.
According to Leng, the police received a report on Saturday from a man saying that his girlfriend had borrowed money from a loan shark for gambling and was subsequently confined by them against her will. The police soon located the victim in a flat on Rua de Tomás Vieira and rescued her on Sunday. The four suspects were also arrested in the area the same day.
The victim told the police that she borrowed HK$50,000 from the suspects for gambling in Zape on Sunday. She was required to pay an upfront “handling fee” of HK$3,000 and 20 percent of the winnings as “interest.” Later that day, she ended up losing all the money and was subsequently confined in the flat for a period of 38 hours.
In the second case, the suspects comprised two females and a man. Following a report by the male victim, the police rescued him from a hotel room in Cotai, and the three suspects who were watching over him were apprehended at the scene.
It was later discovered that the victim had borrowed a total of HK$150,000 on two separate occasions last week. While the victim managed to repay the debt from the first occasion, he was unable to repay the second debt. As a result, he was falsely imprisoned for 10 hours. Leng added that the victim had already paid a total of HK$250,000 to the loan sharks as “interest”.
Leng said there were still accomplices on the run in both cases, adding that the police were trying to track them down.
The seven suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of false imprisonment and usury, Leng noted.
The seven hooded loan-sharking suspects are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters to a police vehicle in Zape after yesterday’s special press conference. – Photos: William Chan
