The Judiciary Police (PJ) apprehended a man from the Chinese mainland for robbing a middle-aged woman of HK$500,000 in cash and chips in an illegal currency exchange deal, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok said during a special press conference yesterday.
Ho identified the suspect as a 38-year-old male surnamed Bi who claimed to be jobless. The victim is a non-resident worker (NRW) from the Chinese mainland moonlighting as an illegal currency exchange dealer in Macau.
According to Ho, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a referral on Monday evening from the Public Security Police (PSP) about the woman who had been robbed by Bi in a hotel guestroom in Taipa.
Ho noted that the victim was contacted by Bi on Monday afternoon, who asked to exchange HK$500,000 for gambling purposes and arranged to meet in a hotel guestroom in Taipa. The victim arrived at the room carrying HK$500,000, which included HK$100,000 in cash and four chips valued at HK$100,000 each. Bi first demanded that she hand over the funds. Then, under the pretext of needing her assistance with a newly purchased phone, Bi asked her to sit on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, Bi grabbed her neck and forced her down onto the bed, causing her phone to fall to the floor. He then repeatedly threatened to hurt her, telling her to surrender her cash right away, and not to resist.
Ho added that Bi used plastic ties to bind her hands and ankles, stuffed a wad of paper in her mouth, and sealed her mouth, eyes, and head with tape to prevent her from calling for help or seeing anything. Finally, Bi tied her to a chair in the room with a bathrobe belt and fled with the stolen cash and chips, along with the victim’s smartphone.
Ho said that the victim managed to tear the tape off her face and the plastic ties from her ankles, escaping to the hotel lobby to seek help from the staff before reporting the case to the police. The victim sustained injuries, with signs of binding and bruising on her hands and ankles, as well as abrasions on her neck and face.
The police identified Bi as the suspect and apprehended him later that night in a casino in Taipa. The police recovered HK$30,000 in chips from Bi.
Ho mentioned that Bi had come up with the idea of committing the robbery after gambling away all his money and had prepared the tape and plastic ties for binding beforehand. Under questioning, Bi claimed that he had transferred part of the stolen money to his mainland bank account and gambled away all the remaining money, apart from the HK$30,000 seized by the police.
Bi was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing a robbery charge.
Ho added that the police would launch a separate investigation into the victim’s engagement in illegal currency exchange activities.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded robbery suspect from the Chinese mainland to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Ada Lei
