Lawmaker to meet with UM over illegal currency exchange scam

Lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho is set to meet with the rector of the University of Macau, Yonghua Song, this week, to follow up on the case of the illegal currency exchange that recently occurred between students and the campus’ security guard.

Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of the Legislative Assembly Spring Luncheon, Coutinho expressed concerns over how the security guard made his way into a group chat that otherwise only included students, as well as questioning the accountability of the university and the security guard’s company.

Recently, at least 24 Macau students were defrauded out of a total of RMB1.04 million – as part of a practice that was ordinarily only used to target gamblers who needed to have their currency exchanged.

According to media reports, the scammed victims were seeking to exchange from RMB10,000 up to RMB200,000.

The man lured students by offering a favorable exchange rate and stating that the deal would be made through online banking.

Coutinho hopes that such cases will not occur again, particularly not in circumstances where security guards are supposed to be protecting students.

“We hope there is more accountability and responsibility on both sides: between the university and the security company that was employed by the UM, so that students will not be betrayed by the company that has the responsibility to protect them,” he told the Times. 

“We’re looking at […] how the board pays attention to dealing with these [scammed] students,” the lawmaker added. 

The 24 students reported the case to police authorities late last month, while the security guard is suspected of having fled to the mainland.