Student suspected of being blackmailed by ‘triads’

A local male secondary student, while in Hong Kong, was suspected of being blackmailed by Hong Kong “triads” and lost HKD6,500.

The minor was in Hong Kong at around noon on July 26 when a stranger suspected to be a “triad” gang member suddenly added him as a friend on the mobile messaging app WhatsApp.

The stranger sent him three photos of “bodily injuries and bleeding,” falsely claiming to have the victim’s identity and location, and then blackmailed him into buying a HKD6,500 game card at a nearby convenience store, threatening to attack him if he failed to comply.

He hurried to a nearby convenience store to first buy a point card worth RMB1,000, took a photo of the activation code, and sent it to the other party.

During this time, the victim contacted the local police for advice and, after consulting with his father, decided to return to Macau and report the loss to the Judiciary Police, claiming it was worth approximately MOP6,700.

After the scammer succeeded, he continued to extort the victim, demanding additional point cards worth a total of around HKD10,000.

The victim had no choice but to use an additional HKD5,500 to buy point cards and send them to the other party.

The Judiciary Police is now investigating the case, and the Hong Kong police have also been contacted.

Times Reporter