The Judiciary Police (PJ) separately arrested five male loan sharks from the mainland on Friday and Saturday for usury and falsely imprisoning two male gamblers, PJ spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
In the first case, Cheong identified the suspects as a 35-year-old male surnamed Xu, a 34-year-old male surnamed Li and a 40-year-old male surnamed Ma, all of whom claimed to be jobless.
According to Cheong, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a referral on Thursday from the Public Security Police (PSP) about a young man who was being held against his will in a flat in Macau due to debts from high-interest gambling loans.
Cheong noted that the victim was gambling in a casino in Cotai on Thursday when he was approached by the trio who offered to lend him money. After haggling over the exchange rate, the victim agreed to borrow HK$40,000 for gambling, under terms including 20 percent of the betting money as “interest” on each winning bet and HK$3,000 deducted as “interest”, as well as signing an IOU for HK$40,000.
Cheong said that Li provided the victim with HK$37,000 in chips, while Xu and Li monitored the victim’s gambling in another casino and collected “interest” from him. By 9 a.m. on Friday, after the victim had gambled away all the borrowed money, he was taken by Xu and Li to a flat in a residential building on Rua da Praia do Manduco (下環街), where they demanded repayment. While being held against his will, the victim managed to contact a friend who reported the case to the police.
The police later apprehended the three suspects in the flat, and seized a mobile phone and HK$40,000 in cash from Li and Ma. Cheong added that the victim was charged a total of HK$7,000 in “interest” and was held against his will for over 24 hours.
Under questioning, the trio refused to cooperate.
Meanwhile in another case, Cheong identified the suspects as a 33-year-old male surnamed Xie who claimed to be jobless, and a 39-year-old farmer surnamed Mo.
According to Cheong, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a report on Saturday from a man who said that his brother was being held against his will in a flat in a residential building on Rua da Praia do Manduco (下環街) due to debts from high-interest gambling loans.
Cheong noted that the victim was offered a loan while gambling at a casino in Macau on Friday evening. A man who remained at large at the time of the press conference agreed to lend HK$40,000 under various conditions –deducting HK$4,000 as “interest” and 20 percent of the betting money as “interest” on each winning bet, as well as the signing of an IOU.
After agreeing to the terms, Xie and his accomplice took the victim to a casino on the Macau peninsula, providing him with HK$36,000 in chips, while Xie was tasked with monitoring and collecting the deal’s “interest”. By 1 a.m. on Saturday, the victim had gambled away all the money and was immediately taken to the flat where he was held against his will by Mo and Xie. The victim managed to call his brother who later reported the case to the police.
The police arrested the duo at the flat and seized two smartphones. Cheong added that the victim was charged HK$10,000 in “interest” and was held for about seven hours.
The five suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of false imprisonment and usury.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
