A man from the Chinese mainland has been arrested for falsely reporting a theft to the police, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspect as a 32-year-old driver surnamed Zhao.
According to Cheong, the police received a report on Sunday from Zhao, who claimed that after checking into a hotel guestroom in Cotai that day, he had put HK$900,000 in chips and HK$300,000 in cash, which he said he had won while gambling that morning, in a drawer in the room. Zhao told the police that the money had vanished, suspecting that someone had stolen it.
Cheong noted that the details provided by Zhao were inconsistent with the facts. The police discovered that Zhao had no record of winning any money, and had actually lost HK$1.1 million while gambling on Sunday morning. Cheong added that the hotel’s surveillance footage confirmed that, during the time of the incident, only Zhao entered and exited the room, with no signs of anyone else being involved.
Cheong said that Zhao was later summoned to a police station. Under questioning, Zhao told the police that he had borrowed HK$1.1 million from friends and family, falsely claiming it was for business purposes. In fact, he had gambled away all the money. Unable to explain the missing funds to his friends and family, he fabricated the story in an attempt to conceal the truth.
Zhao has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a charge of reporting a false case to the police.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
