Crime | Two arrested over forged IDs for construction workers

Two men have been arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) in connection with a case regarding the forgery of Macau resident identification cards and construction industry occupational safety cards, the PJ reported yesterday.
According to the police force, the identification documents were forged to help workers from the mainland be granted illegal jobs in construction sites in Macau.
According to a PJ spokesperson, the case came to light back in July 2019, when the PJ received a communication from the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL).
According to the DSAL, a person in charge of a local construction company reported to the bureau that several people had used forged Macau resident ID cards and construction industry occupational safety cards to work in construction sites.
After investigation, the PJ managed to identify several people involved in the case and, on April 23 this year, one of the men working illegally was intercepted by the PJ. He was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation and charged with the crime of forging documents.
As the investigation continued, the PJ intercepted one local man and one male resident from the mainland on May 5, both of whom were suspected to be also involved in the case.
Through questioning, the PJ found that the construction company had requested that the local resident find local workers and encourage them to work at the construction site. Instead, the suspect conspired with a third man, currently on the run, to find mainland workers with forged IDs to apply for the job posts.
The two main suspects expected to profit significantly from the scheme, as they were receiving from the construction company a daily salary ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 patacas for each worker they recruited, while paying an undisclosed amount to normal non-resident workers.
According to PJ calculation, they should have earned no less than 48,000 patacas from the wage difference.
The PJ also discovered that the mainland suspect would pay the sum of RMB350 for each set of forged documents, acquired in the mainland.
The two men now detained have been transferred to the MP to be charged with the crimes of document forging, fraud, and illegal employment.
The police will continue to investigate the case, searching for the suspect still at large along with any other people potentially involved in the case.