CRIME | Henpecked Korean gambler makes false crime report after loss

A Korean tourist has been arrested and charged with making a bogus robbery report to local police after gambling away all of his money at a casino. According to the Judiciary Police (PJ), he pretended to be the victim of a robbery because he feared the consequences of his wife discovering the gambling losses.
The suspect, aged 30 and surnamed Choi, travelled with his mother to Macau last week. Realizing that his HKD 200,000 loss would infuriate his spouse back home, the man called the police last Friday night, stating that he had been robbed by two unknown assailants at a park in the Zape district.
However, his flawed oral recount raised the suspicions of the police, and he later confided that the entire case was fabricated.
In another case related to gambling, PJ officers put an end to a kidnapping attempt after receiving a telephone report from a local taxi driver who eavesdropped on a loan argument between his passengers in the back of his car.
Last Friday morning, the police received a phone call from a cabbie reporting that two Mandarin-speaking men were taking a mainland woman to a large hotel in the inner harbor, an action which he suspected was linked to kidnapping because of a dispute over money.
The passengers’ conversation revealed that the female
hostage was in debt after losing HKD 30,000 of loaned money on the gaming tables. Unable to return the money, and needing to pay extra interest of over HKD 10,000, she was forced into the hotel and had all of her documents and baggage withheld by the two suspects. The pair, who have already been apprehended, were found staying next to the victim by the police upon arrival at their hotel room.
In a separate case, a homeless man is facing prosecution following the theft of two vehicle batteries near the Macau Tower last week.
Last Saturday night, the owner of a local auto repair store reported to the police that one of his clients’ lorries had lost its battery while awaiting repair at his shop installed inside the goods container. It was said by the police that the loss was discovered after the victim, a local in his forties, saw the homeless man sleeping in the container when he checked the lorry on Saturday morning.
The 48-year-old unemployed suspect confessed the theft, and admitted that he sold the component, worth MOP830, for only MOP30 to a roving vendor in the city’s north.
After he was arrested, the Judiciary Police connected him to another theft, where another car owner had a battery worth MOP1500 stolen.

prison guard assaulted

A prison guard was assaulted by an inmate on Sunday, and has sustained minor injuries. According to a statement issued by the Macau Prison, the inmate has been in custody since 2014 and has violent tendencies, having previously assaulted other inmates as well as another guard. On Sunday morning, the guard was escorting one prisoner back to his cell when the assailant suddenly jumped out and started beating the guard. Other guards managed to subdue the aggressor and took him back to his cell. Disciplinary procedures have been initiated and the prison has increased its vigilance on the troublesome inmate, who was arrested for assault and illegal entry into the territory.