A local woman has been arrested for scamming four women by claiming that she could help them buy and sell luxury items, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon said in a regular press conference yesterday.

The 38-year-old suspect surnamed Lei told the police that she’s a housewife.

According to Leng, four women reported to the Judiciary Police separately between January 19 and February 19 that Lei had cheated them. One of the victims said that she had given Lei 561,000 patacas to purchase four luxury handbags, while also giving three handbags, a watch, a wallet and a bracelet worth a total of 1.91 million patacas to Lei to sell them for her. She reported being scammed out of 2.47 million patacas.

The three other victims were also cheated in a similar way. The four of them were defrauded out of a total of 3.89 million patacas.

Leng said that Lei was arrested on Monday. She claimed that she had been running a luxury goods trading shop online earlier but her business started to fail in 2022, adding that she then decided to spend the money she had received from the four women on “daily expenses” instead.

Lei has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge, according to Leng. 

Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lon looks on during a regular press conference yesterday.
– Photo: William Chan