Crime | Local businessman tricks HK friend in mask scam

A local trader who agreed to help his friend in Hong Kong source 2.5 million facemasks during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, has taken HKD230,000 without delivering the goods, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has disclosed.
Surnamed Sin, the 42-year-old local trader was charged by the police with fraud involving a relatively large sum. The male victim is 38 years old and has known the accused since 2017.
The case first came to the PJ’s knowledge on June 12, when the Hong Kong man reported the alleged scam to police. The authority did not disclose whether the man reported it in Macau or in Hong Kong.
Currently, the ability to move between the two Special Administrative Regions is very limited because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In January this year, the Hong Kong man contacted Sin in the hope of purchasing facemasks from Southeast Asia. After obtaining the request from his friend, Sin ascertained that there was a manufacturer in Vietnam that was making the goods.
He then commenced negotiations with the manufacturer in the capacity of an agent, securing a quotation of USD0.03 per mask, which approximately equated to HKD0.20 per mask.
Securing the supply, Sin quoted his Hong Kong friend HKD0.46 per mask. Both traders conducted a site check at the plant in Vietnam in February. The victim then decided to make a purchase of 2.5 million masks, amounting to about HKD1.14 million.
The international business deal did not end well, however, as the Vietnamese manufacturer later confessed that it could not deliver the goods due to transportation difficulties. It decided to void the transaction and return the money.
However, Sin not only kept the news secret, but he even urged the Hong Kong trader several times to pay a deposit. Consequently, the victim deposited the amount of HKD230,000 into Sin’s bank account before Sin eventually ceased contact.
The PJ arrested Sin on Monday in a residential apartment in Ilha Verde and seized HKD39,000 of alleged ill gotten money. He confessed that he had retained the deposit to cover daily living expenses.