Mainland men arrested over lending and betting activities

A  44-year-old mainland man was arrested after allegedly engaging in illegal currency exchange and lending activities in casinos since May, involving approximately HKD500,000 and generating profits of no less than HKD5,000.

According to the Judiciary Police (PJ), he went to a police station with a gambler on July 6 to report a repayment dispute. Investigations revealed that the suspect had illegally exchanged money for the victim six times at casinos, with all of the HKD100,000 being lost in gambling.

After learning that the victim had pawned a gold chain worth HKD100,000, the suspect persuaded him to borrow money, redeemed the chain for HKD52,000 as collateral, and lent an additional HKD48,000 in cash.

The loan condition required the victim to pay 20% of each winning bet as interest. The victim lost all borrowed funds, and a dispute arose over repayment.

In a separate case, on July 8, a 41-year-old mainland man was caught by the PJ for allegedly placing his mobile phone in his shirt pocket with the camera side facing outward to livestream electronic baccarat machines in a local casino.

The suspect was simultaneously receiving instructions via a Bluetooth earpiece, and police noticed his unusual sitting posture, which prompted an investigation.

The suspect admitted to using this method since July 6 to place bets on behalf of an individual in the mainland on three occasions, involving a total of HKD30,000. Under their agreement, the suspect would receive half of any winnings as commission.

Although all three bets were lost, the suspect still obtained benefits worth no less than HKD1,550 through accumulated gaming points. RD