A middle-aged mainland woman has been cheated by her “business partner” out of HK$50,000, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok said at a regular press conference yesterday.
Both had struck a deal under which the woman would put up the “capital” for their illegal currency exchange business, while the mainland suspect was to look for currency exchange clients in Cotai.
Ho said that the victim met the 30-year-old suspect surnamed Zhou through a common friend in March this year, when they started their “business” in Macau, adding that while the victim gave Zhou a casino chip worth HK$50,000, at a hotel in Cotai on June 28, the suspect gave the victim on the next day an ATM card and asked her to withdraw 47,500 yuan.
According to Ho, when the victim tried to withdraw the money with the card, she realised that the suspect had only 4 jiao (about 45 avos) left in his bank account and eventually lost contact with him.
The victim discovered Zhou’s whereabouts in Zape, and immediately reported the case to Public Security Police (PSP) officers on duty nearby on Tuesday, after which the case was referred to the Judiciary Police.
A PJ investigation showed, according to Ho, that the suspect had gambled away the victim’s money, instead of “making any money” after receiving the chip from the victim. Ho noted that PJ officers recovered only HK$4,000 in cash from the suspect.
Zhou was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing an abuse of trust charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
