The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a woman from the Chinese mainland for cheating two illegal currency exchange dealers, PJ spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a special press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspect as a jobless female in her fifties, surnamed Lyu. Cheong also said that the two male victims are also from the Chinese mainland, adding that as the duo are suspected of engaging in illegal currency exchange activities in local casinos, the Judiciary Police have opened a separate case to investigate the matter.
According to Cheong, on Tuesday, Lyu entered a casino in Cotai with 15 counterfeit chips. While in a smoking lounge, Cheong said that Lyu was approached by the duo, adding that they agreed to buy chips worth HK$150,000 (154,500 patacas) from her for 113,100 yuan. Lyu presented two QR codes for them to transfer the money, Cheong said.
After the transfers were completed, she handed 15 bogus HK$10,000 chips to them, according to Cheong.
The duo immediately noticed something unusual about the chips and suspected they were counterfeit, Cheong said, adding that they asked Lyu to accompany them to the casino cage to have the chips verified.
According to Cheong, as casino cage staff member confirmed that the chips were badly made, lacked security labels on both the front and back, and could not pass the chip recognition device. The duo then promptly reported the matter to the Judiciary Police.
Upon arrival, PJ officers intercepted Lyu and the two victims, Cheong said, adding that they seized the 15 counterfeit chips and a smartphone.
The investigation revealed that Lyu had colluded with at least one other suspect, who remained at large at the time of the press conference, to smuggle fake chips from the Chinese mainland to Macau so that she could defraud gamblers.
Lyu was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing a fraud charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded bogus chip suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
