A 44-year-old local resident has been accused of scamming a local man and two tourists from the mainland in a fraud amounting to over 435,000 patacas, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said yesterday during a specially organized press conference.
The first alleged victim, who first reported the matter to the PJ, said the suspect had offered him the opportunity to invest in construction works, luring him with the potential of high return.
He lost some 340,000 patacas and reported the suspect to the PJ.
While investigating the case, the PJ determined the suspect was allegedly involved in two other cases reported by mainland tourists of scams related to currency exchange.
The two alleged mainland victims met the suspect via social media and said he offered to exchange RMB for HKD at a better rate. The second alleged victim was said to have lost some HKD80,000, while the third reported a loss of HKD14,500.
After transferring the amounts to the suspect, both alleged victims lost contact with him and reported him to PJ.
The suspect was detained on Jan. 18 at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Port. He confessed to having performed the scams for money to play in the casino.
He told the PJ the three victims’ money had already been lost at the casino tables.
The case has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office for the suspect to be charged with fraud.
Overstayers detained
Three mainland people were detained yesterday for using forged visas and identification documents (IDs) to overstay in Macau, the PJ said.
According to the PJ spokesperson, the police received a tipoff and detained the trio in a hotel unit in Cotai.
The suspects are alleged to have acquired four forged visas for RMB18,000 and two forged IDs for RMB2,000 from an unknown woman they met via social media.
Further investigation revealed an entry ban had already been imposed on one of the suspects in 2022 because of overstaying.
All suspects have been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office to be charged with illegal entry and the possession and use of forged documents.
