The Judiciary Police (PJ) detained a retired PJ officer and his younger sister for allegedly blackmailing a casino public relations worker, demanding that he pay 154,000 patacas, PJ spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a regular press conference yesterday.
According to Chan, the male suspect is a 60-year-old retiree surnamed Cheong. He told the police that he had retired from the Judiciary Police in the middle of this year. The female suspect surnamed Cheong is 55-years old. She told the police that she works as a cashier in a local hotel. The victim’s personal information was not released.
According to Chan, the female suspect Cheong is the ex-girlfriend of the victim’s father. Both lived together for a period of time. The latter died in 2017. Last year, Cheong asked the victim to pay her 154,000 patacas for home improvements as his father had been living with her.
According to Chan, the victim did not bother to respond to Cheong. However, at midnight on Friday, Cheong, accompanied by her brother, went to the casino in the city centre where the victim works. The male suspect threatened the victim by claiming that he had “ways of getting him to lose his job”, Chan said.
After being threatened by Cheong, the victim told him that he would only pay his sister 30,000 patacas. However, the victim reported the attempted blackmail to the police on Saturday.
The trio agreed to meet in a fast-food eatery in Avenida 24 de Junho in Nape on Saturday afternoon. The victim was supposed to pay the duo the 30,000 patacas at the restaurant.
The police were informed about the meeting in advance. They picked up the two suspects at the scene and took them to a police station for questioning. Both refused to cooperate, telling the police that the victim had been willing to pay for the renovations, the spokesman said.
The police have, however, gathered sufficient evidence to prove that the Cheongs attempted to blackmail the victim, according to Chan.
The Judiciary Police have transferred the two suspects to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning. Both are facing blackmail charges, Chan said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man (left) addresses yesterday’s regular press conference as Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Kam Ka Kit looks on. Photo: Kristy Chan
