CRIME | Local student loses 48,000 patacas in online sex scam

A local student has fallen victim to an online scam after seeking sexual services through a social network, according to the Judiciary Police (PJ).

The PJ received a report on June 21 from the local resident, who is a student in his 20s.

On June 15, the victim used a social network to search for the services of a prostitute. He successfully contacted a figure he believed to be a woman, however, the police information did not disclose the gender of the self-proclaimed woman.

Similar to several cases reported in the past, the victim believed that the suspect could provide him with sexual services but only under certain conditions. In this case, the victim had to purchase a game recharge card.

The victim later switched to another social network and reached an agreement with the suspect. He would purchase a game recharge card valued at MOP800 and in return, the suspect would provide him with sexual services.

The victim followed the terms of the agreement and sent the details of the receipt to the suspect. However, the sexual service was never provided following the purchase of the game recharge card.

In addition to the first game recharge card, the suspect requested that the victim purchase additional game recharge cards.

According to the police, the victim also received a phone call from a Mandarin-speaking man who told the victim that, in order to secure the sexual services, the victim would need to send photos of his ID card, home return permit and bank card to the suspect.

After sending the photos, the victim was asked to purchase another game recharge card valued at more than MOP10,000. However, the suspect failed to reply to the victim concerning the sexual services again.

During the entire process, the victim purchased a total of 27 game recharge cards with a total value of MOP48,471.

Worried that his personal information might be taken advantage of in the future, the victim reported the case to the police authority. 

In 2018, a 17-year-old local male student met a “female netizen” online who claimed to be able to provide sexual services in return for the purchase of a game recharge card.

In just nine days, the boy spent a total of MOP68,000 buying game recharge cards for the scammer.

OVERSTAYER TURNS HIMSELF IN BY MISTAKE

An overstaying non-resident accidently “turned himself in” to the police authority after he called the police to solve a dispute between he and his friend, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) reported during yesterday’s joint police press conference.

On June 21 at Praça de Luís de Camões, the suspect, who is Indian, in his 30s and named Bhupinder, called the PSP to report a quarrel between he and his friend. When police arrived at the scene and located the man, he was drunk.

Upon police inquiry, the man failed to provide his ID or travel documents. PSP officers reviewed the man’s staying record and found he was overstaying in Macau. However, he told the police officer he was unaware of his overstaying status and that his employer was in the process of canceling his blue card.

The man was then transferred on the same day to the prosecution authority for overstaying. His girlfriend was also transferred to the prosecution authority for providing him with shelter. His girlfriend is a Filipino resident who works in Macau as a saleswoman.

LENDERS DEFRAUDED BY GAMBLERS

A group of moneylenders has been defrauded out of HKD1.9 million after contributing to a gambling activity carried out by two mainland men, according to the PJ.

The case was reported to PJ on June 21. The two suspects are Zheng, 35, an unemployed mainland man, and Liu, 34, a mainland male hairdresser.

On June 20, the two suspects, together with the victims, gathered HKD2.5 million for gambling. The two suspects provided HKD550,000 while the victims contributed the rest. After the suspects and the victims got all the money together, Zheng went to gamble under the victims’ supervision.

The suspects only played two rounds. They then left the gambling table with the remaining HKD2.49 million and went to the bathroom.

While the victims waited outside the bathroom, Liu started shouting inside the casino, saying that the contribution of the money was illegal and claiming he would report the case to the police.

Concerned, the victims left the scene. Liu and Zheng then went to the casino cage to change the chips into cash, without success. The police authority was called to the scene to handle the case. One of the victims was invited to the scene to assist in the investigation.

The two suspects were transferred to the prosecution authority on the charge of fraud. The victim who returned to the scene was a Macau resident. The identity of the other victims remains unknown.