Crime | Contractor defrauds another by MOP500,000 in fake loan scheme

A 41-year-old local civil construction contractor is being accused of fraud over an alleged false money-loaning scheme for construction works, the Judiciary Police (PJ) informed today during the regular joint press conference of the police forces.
According to PJ, the suspect and the victim, another local civil construction contractor, worked together several times between December 2019 and April 2020, primarily cooperating on larger works that their own small companies could not do on their own.
One of these such construction works contracted to the victim allegedly stopped in June 2020 because he lacked financial resources to continue, which the suspect knew because he was also part of the project.
In August last year, the suspect knew the victim had won a tender for governmental construction work and approached him, claiming to be aware of an entity that could loan the money needed for the stopped project by offering the governmental construction work he had just secured as a loan guarantee.
The victim believed that such a scheme was real and also agreed to hand his collaborator a cheque for 500,000 patacas that would serve as a guarantee deposit for the loan he sought; a total of HKD1.5 million.
After giving the suspect the 500,000 patacas, the victim started questioning the suspect about the loan, but the suspect offered several excuses to justify the delay in the full loan amount coming through.
At the end of August 2020, the victim realized he has been scammed and filed a complaint with the PJ.
On July 2 this year, the PJ called the suspect to provide testimony on the case at the PJ headquarters.
He then confessed the crime, admitting that there was no loan scheme and he had taken and spent the 500,000 patacas from the victim.
He has been sent to the Public Prosecutions Office to be accused of the crime of fraud of a relatively high amount.

PJ reports eight new cases of credit card fraud in three days

The PJ has added eight new cases to the long and growing list of unlawful use of credit cards by third parties.
The new cases were reported by the victims between July 2 and 4 and involved credit cards from seven local residents, and one from a non-resident worker.
According to the PJ, the unlawful transactions totaled 78,441 patacas.
The PJ spokesperson added that these transactions were made online as well as in shops located abroad and involve different currencies such as British pounds, American dollars, Canadian dollars, and patacas.
The highest transaction reported was USD2,133 (over 17,000 patacas).