A compulsive gambler has been arrested for beating his wife and robbing her handbag, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Mark Sou Sio Keong said at a regular press conference on Friday.
The 48-year-old jobless suspect surnamed Lu is a mainlander.
According to Sou, a local woman in her fifties reported to the Public Security Police (PSP) on Wednesday that she had been attacked by her husband on the previous day.
PSP officers referred the case to the Judiciary Police for follow-up investigation. The victim told the police that she met Lu in 2017, and they got married in the mainland this year. The victim said Lu often came to Macau to gamble and occasionally stayed overnight at the victim’s home in the city centre.
On Tuesday morning, Lu demanded 3,000 yuan (3,600 patacas) from his wife for casino gambling, which she refused. He then went into the kitchen to get a knife, which he then held to her neck, threatening to kill her. Lu beat and kicked her and forced her to give him 1,000 yuan for gambling. However, the fearful victim input the wrong password and failed to complete the transfer the money with her smartphone.
According to Sou, Lu, who grew increasingly furious, then snatched the victim’s smartphone and damaged by throwing it onto the floor.
Afterwards, he told the victim to use another smartphone to transfer the money, and he eventually received 400 yuan. As the victim failed to meet his demand, Lu used force to snatch the victim’s designer handbag worth 20,000 patacas, left the flat and sold the handbag in the mainland, Sou said.
According to Sou, after pondering during the night on her reaction to the incident, the victim decided to report the case to the police the next morning. PJ officers confirmed that Lu had gone back to the mainland. He was arrested when he reentered Macau via the Barrier Gate checkpoint in the afternoon. Under questioning, Lu admitted that he had demanded cash from his wife, but denied that he had held a knife to her neck and claimed that his wife had willingly given him the handbag.
Sou said PJ officers investigating his background discovered that Lu was involved in domestic violence in May, two months after the couple got married, but the case was not pursued by the police because the victim had withdrawn it, Sou said.
According to a forensic examination of her injuries, the victim sustained bruises to her head and hands, according to Sou.
Lu has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of domestic violence, robbery, property damage and use of prohibited weapons, according to Sou.
