Duo posing as women steal HKD41,000 from hotel guest

[Photo: Yuki Lei]

Two Filipino men allegedly posing as women stole HKD41,000 from a middle-aged non-resident man after luring him to a hotel room with an offer of massage services, Judiciary Police (PJ) said yesterday.

The suspects, who police said conspired to commit the aggravated theft, were arrested after the victim spotted them on a nearby street and alerted authorities.

In a special press conference yesterday, PJ reported that at around 3 a.m. on Monday, the victim was approached near a hotel in the ZAPE district by two Filipino men dressed as women who offered him massage services. The three then returned to the victim’s hotel room.

The victim placed a waist pouch containing HKD58,000 in cash on the bedside table, then went to the bathroom while the two suspects gave him a massage. After the massage, the victim took HKD1,000 from the pouch to pay the two men, who then left the scene promptly. The victim later counted the remaining cash and found only HKD16,000 left – a loss of HKD41,000.

He immediately searched for the two men and found them on a nearby street around 5 a.m., then called the Public Security Police Force (PSP) for assistance. The case was subsequently transferred to the PJ for investigation.

Following an investigation, authorities confirmed that the two men had conspired to commit the theft while disguised as women. Police later searched the hotel room where the two suspects were staying in the same district and recovered the stolen HKD41,000 in cash.

Police said there was strong evidence that the two men acted in collusion to commit aggravated theft. Both were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) following the press conference. Police said no other services had been identified at this stage,but added that further investigation would be conducted into whether the suspects were involved in prostitution-related offences.

Police nab woman in exchange scam

Police arrested a local woman for an illegal currency exchange offense. During a routine patrol at a Cotai casino on Monday morning, PJ officers spotted a 55-year-old local woman acting suspiciously.

After conducting surveillance, at around 10:45 a.m., they observed the woman exchanging HKD11,400 with a middle-aged non-resident man. The man displayed a QR code for the transfer, then handed over Hong Kong dollar chips and cash to the woman, who proceeded to a gaming table. Police immediately intercepted both individuals and took them in for questioning.

The investigation revealed that the woman had been operating illegal currency exchange services at Macau casinos since January 2025, earning HKD80 for every HKD10,000 exchanged, with total illegal profits estimated at approximately HKD140,000. Police seized a mobile phone, HKD10,000 in casino chips, and HKD3,000 in cash from the suspect, while HKD1,000 in chips from the illegal transaction was recovered from the gambler.

Police said there was strong evidence of the woman’s involvement in illegal currency exchange. She was also transferred to the MP yesterday.