A public relations staff and a security guard were arrested on Saturday for smuggling six mainlanders into Macau and arranging hotel rooms for them, while two mainlanders were arrested later that day for using forged documents to enter the city, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Ho Ka Kit said in a regular press conference this week.
The first two male suspects are a 35-year-old man who works as a casino PR staff surnamed Si Tou and a 29-year-old non-resident worker surnamed Fung who works as a security guard, according to Ho.
The other two male suspects are mainlanders surnamed Tang and Qin who are in their 30s. Tang told the police that he owns a factory, while Qin said he’s unemployed.
Ho said on Tuesday the Macau Customs Service reported to the Public Security Police early Saturday that they discovered five men and a woman had illegally entered Macau by boat in the Outer Harbour area.
Customs officers intercepted the woman and two of the five men at the scene, after which they were transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP). The other three men initially avoided arrest and took two taxis to leave the scene. The police were able to identify through CCTV footage the two taxis which took the three illegal immigrants to two hotels in Cotai. Police officers went to both hotels to investigate.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Tuesday shows PSP officers escorting seven of the eight suspects to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) last Saturday.
17,000 yuan ‘fee’ for illegal entry
The officers arrested Tang and Qin at the hotel where Si Tou works. Both showed the police officers their entry declaration forms that turned out to be forgeries. Both later confessed that they paid 17,000 yuan (19,200 patacas) each to enter Macau illegally to gamble in local casinos. They acknowledged that they are compulsive gamblers. Both also told the police that they bought the two forged entry declaration forms for 700 yuan, according to Ho.
Ho said that Tang and Qin had contacted Si Tou before their arrival here so that he could arrange for a taxi to pick them up at the waterfront. However, because they arrived late both missed the taxi which Si Tou had arranged for them and took another one to go to the hotel in Cotai to meet Si Tou who also arranged their check-in.
The police tracked down Si Tou based on the information provided by Tang and Qin and later arrested him. The police suspect that Si Tou is involved in the case, based on the check-in information provided by the hotel. However, Si Tou denied any involvement.
Ho said the police found out that the other illegal immigrant took a taxi to another hotel in Cotai, where he met Fung – the security guard allegedly involved in the case – who then took him to a hotel in Areia Preta. The police later arrested both. The mainlander told the police that he had planned to stay in a hotel in Cotai, but was unable to check in due to problems with his identity papers. He also admitted that he had paid 700 yuan to Fung for his “service” and the room rate in the Areia Preta hotel. According to Ho, Fung admitted that he’s involved in the case.
The five men and the woman who entered Macau illegally are from Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places in the mainland. They paid between 13,000 and 20,000 yuan each for their illegal entry into Macau.
Seven of the eight suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) last Saturday for further investigation. Si Tou faces charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, Fung faces charge of aiding illegal immigration, while Tang and Qin are facing charges of using forged documents, according to Ho.
