Suspects claimed they could also arrange bank loans
A local man and four local women were arrested on Wednesday for product fraud and conspiring to falsely tell clients that they could assist them in applying for loans from local banks after purchasing jewellery in their two shops, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said in a special press conference yesterday.
The quintet comprises a 38-year-old businessman surnamed Un who owns the jewellery shop and his 41-year-old wife surnamed Chio who works as a clerk in the shop. The other three women are sales assistants employed by the shop, surnamed Hoi, Lam and Wu, aged 47, 37 and 35 respectively.
According to Leng, a businesswoman from the mainland reported to the police on Tuesday that she had met Un through a social media platform in December last year. She told the police that Un claimed that he could help her apply for a bank loan if she spent more than 5,000 patacas on jewellery in his shop.
The victim, who was in need of money for her business, visited Macau in March and July and bought two pieces of jewellery for a total of 13,800 patacas. After each purchase, she signed a power of attorney to authorise the shop to assist in the purported loan application. Afterwards, the victim checked with the bank and discovered that no loan application in her name was being processed. She suspected that she had been defrauded and reported the case to the police.
The victim told the police that she signed the second power of attorney as Un had claimed that the first one had expired.
Leng said that the case involved two jewellery shops, one in Fai Chi Kei and the other in Areia Preta. PJ officers went to the two shops on Wednesday afternoon and seized a large quantity of low-grade jewellery together with 40,000 patacas in cash. Subsequently, the officers arrested Un and Chio at their flat in Areia Preta and Lam at her home in Fai Chi Kei while Hoi and Wu were told to report to a police station for questioning.
According to the investigation, Un told his sales assistants to sell poor-quality jewellery at extravagant prices to defraud shoppers. Leng said that due to poor market conditions after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the shop had been soliciting buyers through social media and attempted to persuade the prospective customers to buy jewellery under the pretext of assisting them in applying for bank loans, according to Leng.
Leng said the Macau Consumer Council had received more than 10 complaints about the sale of fake jewellery at the two jewellery shops. The estimated actual value of the two pieces of jewellery purchased by the victim was 20 patacas and 395 patacas respectively, while the shop sold them at the exaggerated prices of 6,800 patacas and 7,000 patacas respectively.
The five suspects were transferred to Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of product fraud and being members of an organised crime gang. Leng said that the police were still looking for two more suspects.
The hooded fraud suspects are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday.
Evidence seized from the suspects such as low-grade jewellery, pataca notes and smartphones are displayed during yesterday’s special press conference about the case at the pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
