CRIME | Man defrauds 3 women out of millions in online chatting scam

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has detained a 27-year-old mainland man who allegedly defrauded three women out of more than MOP3.5 million.
Authorities claimed that the man, who is married, met the three victims in an Internet chat room.
In one of the cases, the man and one of the victims became a couple while the woman was separating from her husband.
The man asked her to borrow a total of HKD2.7 million, which she agreed to. One of the excuses he gave her was that he was smuggling pigs into the mainland, and authorities were holding up his goods.
After being asked repeatedly for money, the victim became suspicious and tried to refuse giving him any more funds.
The man then began intimidating her and threatened that he would go after her separated  husband if she refused to lend him money.
The man was also alleged to have acquired information about the victim’s husband, including details of his vehicle and address.
As a result, the woman was reportedly forced to continue sending him money.
However she eventually decided to seek help from the authorities.
After investigating the case, the PJ discovered that the man also had relationships with two other women since 2013. He successfully defrauded around MOP770,000 out of the two in a similar manner.
PJ is charging the man with fraud and coercion. He will be handed over to the Public Prosecution Office. JPL