Repeat in-flight thief arrested entering Macau

A man allegedly involved in at least four in-flight thefts was arrested at the airport upon entering Macau on March 3, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has announced.

Following his arrest, the police found over JPY890,000 cash and several hundred in undisclosed currencies.

The suspect, 46, reportedly works as a laborer. The police did not disclose his nationality.

The initial case that the police believe to be connected to the man was reported to the police on April 14, 2011.

A male visitor had reported having lost HKD38,000 and RMB2,900 – enclosed separately in two envelopes – during his flight from Shanghai to Macau. The envelopes were replaced with two air-sickness bags.

On Jan. 15 this year, the police received a report on a similar theft in which a visitor reported having lost HKD11,000 and MYR9,000 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau.

A local man reported over the phone on Nov. 14 last year that his luggage in the in-flight overhead compartment was touched and moved around. He said he stopped the act immediately before retrieving his luggage.

After receiving the report in November last year, the police started investigations which pointed to the suspect. The police later discovered the suspect was on the same Kuala Lumpur to Macau flight. While interrogating the suspect, another report from the same flight on March 3 was received. A passenger reported losing JPY200,000 and a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

These details led the police to connect the suspect to the latest case.

Fingerprints on the paper bags in the first case matched those of the suspect, and the police considered the suspect as having been involved in all four cases. However, the suspect declined to cooperate with the investigation.

In another case, the police arrested three men on allegations of two burglary cases. The trio was arrested at Border Gate upon entering Macau. The police said that they fled to mainland China after committing the crime.

Two men were involved in a burglary that concerned a loss of property worth MOP380,000. This case happened on Dec. 22 last year. The resident of an apartment in Fai Chi Kei told the police that the door of the apartment had signs of being pried open when they returned home in the evening.

Investigations revealed the two people had purchased tools in the neighborhood and left Macau the same evening.

In another case that concerned a loss of property worth MOP97,000, which took place on Nov. 6 last year in an apartment in Taipa, a victim reported signs their apartment had been searched, which they noticed when they returned home in the evening. This case concerned the remaining suspect.

The man is believed to have snuck in through the impluvium. He also left Macau that same evening.

The police found gloves and screwdrivers on the men, which they believed had been used in the crimes, and could not rule out that they had re-entered Macau to commit further crimes.

The police did not disclose whether they have found clues leading them to connect the three people.

HK Taxi driver suspected passing off MOP10 as HKD100

A new deceptive practice targeting unsuspecting passengers has surfaced in Hong Kong after a passenger took to social media about a taxi driver who passed off a MOP10 for a HKD100.

According to the female passenger, as cited on the social media platform, Xiaohongshu, after paying for her ride, the driver allegedly cleverly included a MOP10 note, which has a similar color to the HKD100 bill, among the genuine Hong Kong currency he gave her as change.

She described this incident as a “new type of scam” involving the exchange of visually similar banknotes.

The red-colored MOP10 note closely resembles the higher-valued Hong Kong banknote, making it easy to confuse them at a quick glance. However, upon closer examination, the differences in design and currency value can be discerned.

The complaint quickly triggered online discussion, eliciting mixed reactions from netizens. 

Several comments expressed dissatisfaction with Hong Kong’s taxi industry, considering cash transactions that they considered “outdated” in 2024.