A woman has been arrested for forging her mother’s signature in a mortgage scam, according to Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong during a press conference yesterday.
The 33-year-old female suspect, surnamed Leong, owns a restaurant in the northern district.
Facing financial difficulties in 2023, Leong saw an advertisement on social media offering loans. She contacted the advertiser, a man who claimed she did not qualify but suggested mortgaging her mother’s flat instead.
The man instructed Leong to forge her mother’s signature and provide her identification card to obtain a 1million pataca mortgage loan. If successful, Leong would receive 450,000 patacas.
On June 18, Leong, the man, and another local man surnamed Chan visited a law firm to sign the required documents. After completing the process and receiving a loan cheque, they proceeded to a bank to cash it. However, the man fled the scene before they arrived at the bank, leaving Leong without any money. The following day, she reported the case to the police, saying that she had been scammed.
Earlier this month, the police arrested Leong and Chan. Under questioning, Chan admitted to knowingly participating in the fraud and was paid 15,000 patacas for accompanying Leong and the other fraudster.
At the time of the press conference, the police were still investigating the whereabouts of other possible accomplices involved in the scam.
Leong and Chan have been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP), facing charges of fraud and document forgery, according to Cheong.
