Two men from the mainland have separately been arrested for their involvement in two currency exchange-related fraud cases, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the 45-year-old suspect surnamed Wu told the police that he’s a businessman.
According to Leng, on Thursday the victim wished to exchange Hong Kong dollars he had won in a casino into yuan and deposit the amount into his mainland bank account. The victim then contacted Wu for a currency exchange deal, with Wu transferring 211,800 yuan into the victim’s account. After the victim confirmed that the amount had been transferred to his account, he gave Wu HK$229,000 in cash.
The victim received a notification from the bank the next day, informing him that his bank account had been frozen as it had received fraudulent funds. The next day, the victim encountered Wu in another casino and immediately contacted the casino security, who intercepted Wu and reported the case to the police.
Under questioning, Wu refused to cooperate.
In the second case, the suspect surnamed Tian is in his forties.
According to Leng, on August 26, in a smoking lounge at a Cotai casino, Tian approached the victim, an illegal currency exchange dealer, and struck a deal, according to which Tian was to transfer 47,000 yuan to the victim, who was then supposed to pay Tian HK$50,000 in casino chips.
The victim provided Tian with a QR code screenshot belonging to a friend for the money transfer. Tian scanned the code, displayed a photo of the supposedly successful transaction to the victim, who subsequently handed over the casino chips.
Upon attempting to retrieve the funds from his friend, the victim discovered that no money had been received so he suspected that the “receipt” was fake. Subsequently, he reported the case to the authorities.
Tian was apprehended last week upon entering Macau via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) checkpoint. He refused to cooperate.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing fraud charges, Leng said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: William Chan
