A teacher and a university student from the mainland have separately been arrested for their involvement in two currency exchange-related fraud cases, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the teacher is a 30-year-old man surnamed Yu.
According to Chong, the male victim met Yu in late February and engaged in a currency transaction, where the victim agreed to give HK$42,000 in casino chips to Yu while the latter was supposed to transfer 40,000 yuan to the victim’s account online.
After they completed the transaction and left, the victim discovered that he had only received 4,000 yuan. He reported the case to the police in March.
Yu was arrested when he re-entered Macau through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint on Monday. Under questioning, Yu claimed that he was unaware that only 4,000 yuan had been transferred to the victim.
In the second case, the 23-year-old suspect is surnamed Jin.
According to Chong, the victim encountered Jin at a Cotai casino last Wednesday and engaged in a currency transaction, where the victim gave HK$100,000 to the man while he transferred 92,000 yuan to the victim’s account online.
The next day, the victim received a phone call from the bank informing him about suspicious transactions detected in his account, which subsequently led to its freezing. The victim reported the case to the Judiciary Police.
Jin was arrested when he re-entered Macau through the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Monday. Under questioning, he told the police that he had been instructed by “someone” from the mainland to transfer funds on behalf of that person. He claimed that the person had promised to pay him 1,000 yuan every time he struck a deal with potential clients.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing fraud charges, Chong said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference.
– Photo: William Chan
