Woman arrested for stealing chips from casino table

A woman has been arrested on charges that on 20 occasions she stole casino chips straight from the gambling table, the Judiciary Police (PJ) revealed yesterday.

The woman worked as a croupier at the casino in question.

According to the police, she managed to steal HKD300,000 worth of chips in total.

The local suspect, named Hung and aged 47, was caught red-handed on February 23 while making her 22nd attempt. On detecting the attempted theft, the casino management immediately reported the case to the police.

During the on-site search, the police found a chip to the value of HKD20,000. From casino surveillance camera footages, the police inspectors were called to attention 10 times of similar act between February 8 and 23. The total value of chips that she stole was HKD179,000.

During the preliminary interrogation, the suspect admitted to the theft, adding that she had stolen chips on 20 occasions since the start of this year. The total monetary value of the chips was about HKD300,000.

As the law prohibits casino employees from entering local casinos when not on duty, the chips were cashed by her accomplice. Despite admitting to spending the cash, the suspect declined to reveal the identity of the accomplice.

Investigations are still ongoing.

In another case of missing casino chips, a mainland Chinese man in his 40s rose from a rest in his hotel room to find that his stack of casino chips to the value of HKD110,000 had disappeared. Following his report, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) discovered a case of illicit addictive substance use.

The 31-year-old female suspect from mainland China, named Jiang, is a girlfriend of the victim.

The victim discovered the loss of his casino chips from his pocket on February 23. Initially he thought he had accidentally misplaced them. Preliminary investigations, however, found that his girlfriend had cashed some of the chips.
The victim said they had met each other two years ago in Macau.

PSP officials searched the hotel room rented by the victim and found Jiang inside. Moreover, a small quantity of addictive substances and tools were also found.

Following that the discovery, the officers searched the hotel room in NAPE District rented under Jiang’s name. In there, the officers found 2.2 grams of methamphetamine, separated into four small packets. The officers were told that the substances were purchased from a male stranger for HKD6,000.

Jiang was taken to a hospital, where medical checks showed that she had consumed the narcotic.

The suspect confessed that she had taken the chips from the victim. After cashing them, she transferred about HKD60,000 to the mainland and kept only about HKD20,000.

A recent case of arson against the PSP has led to a PJ investigation.

Early Sunday morning, a fire broke out at the back of a PSP vehicle parked next to the station on Rua do Pequim. The PJ was notified and a 24-year-old local man was apprehended.

According to the PJ, the suspect could not converse coherently. Inspectors also found the man’s disability card, issued by the Social Welfare Bureau, and thus suspected the man being of mentally disabled.

The man was sent to the government hospital for further assessment.