A local woman was arrested yesterday for defrauding another local woman out of a total of 560,000 yuan (620,000 patacas) by pretending to be a police officer, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a special press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 30-year-old female surnamed Neng who claimed to be jobless.
According to Lei, the police received a report on July 10 from a local woman who said that she had been deceived out of 560,000 yuan by Neng, who posed as a police officer while offering concert tickets at a “low price.”
In August 2024, the victim was contacted via WeChat by Neng, a parent in the WeChat parents’ group of her children’s school in Taipa. Neng claimed to be a PJ officer and told the victim that she could obtain concert tickets at a low price through internal channels. She used excuses about “fearing bank transaction investigations” and the “prohibition of scalping tickets” to persuade the victim to make the purchases.
Lei added that Neng repeatedly sent the victim photos of the PJ headquarters and fabricated stories about “interrogating suspects” and “arresting suspects”, leading the victim to believe that Neng was a “police officer”.
From August to October 2024, the victim transferred a total of 560,000 yuan in multiple transactions to a designated account, but she never received the tickets. By July, Neng continued to delay repayment with excuses such as “being suspended” and “having colleagues follow up.” Suspecting it was a scam, the victim finally reported the case to the police on Thursday.
Lei noted that the police apprehended Neng in Zape yesterday. The police discovered that Neng was not a police officer and that the photos she provided were simply taken by herself while passing the PJ headquarters. Under questioning, Neng admitted to defrauding the victim, claiming that all the money had been spent on daily expenses and paying off debts.
Neng was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing a fraud charge and a charge for impersonating a police officer, according to Lei.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded fraud suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Ada Lei
