The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two men from the mainland early yesterday morning for robbing a female university student of HK$1,000 in cash and defrauding at least 16 tourists and residents near local casinos, in which seven victims each reported losses of about HK$1,600 in cash, according to PJ spokesman Chan Wun Man.
During yesterday afternoon’s special press conference, Chan said that the Judiciary Police received a robbery report from the Macau-based mainland student at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, saying that she was stopped by the two suspects when walking alone along the path opposite to a casino on Rua de Luís Gonzaga Gomes in Zape, during which the duo asked her to lend them some money by claiming that they had gambled away all their money. The victim told the police that the two suspects, who stopped her from leaving, twisted her arm and forced her to cash out HK$1,000 from her mobile banking account at a pawnshop nearby.
A PJ investigation identified the two suspects within four hours after receiving the report and arrested them early yesterday morning at an illegal inn in Iao Hon district, where PJ officers recovered and seized a portion of the stolen money and business cards suspected to be used for fraudulent purposes, Chan said, adding that a further investigation showed that the duo, purporting to be senior executives of a large-scale enterprise in the mainland, “borrowed” money from at least 16 victims, including a male university student from the mainland, claiming that “they had lost all their money in a casino”.
According to Chan, the two jobless suspects, surnamed Ding and Sun, are aged 50 and 36 respectively. Both legally entered Macau on Sunday.
Chan noted that the Judiciary Police have contacted six other victims, all of whom said that they were separately asked by the two suspects to lend them money on the street near a casino, totalling 3,700 patacas.
Under questioning, Chan said, the duo admitted to committing the crimes in Macau with a premeditated plan, adding that they had fake business cards printed in advance in the mainland. The duo also told the police that they extorted money by threatening their victims, females in particular.
The duo will be transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) today, facing charges of robbery and fraud, according to Chan, who urged members of the public suspecting to be victims of the duo to call the police as soon as possible.
The two hooded suspects from the mainland are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape after yesterday’s special press conference about their case. – Photo: Yuki Lei
