The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a local man on Thursday for extorting money from a prostitute from the mainland by pretending to be a police officer at a hotel room that day where he demanded that the woman pay him about 3,000 patacas in exchange for him not taking her to a police station for questioning, which she complied with, PJ spokesman Leng Kam Lon said during a special press conference on Friday.
The case was discovered when the police carried out an operation to combat prostitution at the hotel in Zape.
According to Leng, the man was previously imprisoned for robbery and pretending to be a police officer and was released in 2023.
Leng identified the suspect as a 47-year-old surnamed Lam who told the police that he is jobless.
At around midday on Thursday, Leng said, the police intercepted the woman during an operation to combat prostitution at the hotel. The sex worker told the police that a man, Lam, contacted her at 2 a.m. that day for commercial sex. After the man entered the hotel room, Leng said, he told her that he “is a police officer” by quickly showing her a card and demanded that she pay him money as otherwise he would take her to a police station for investigation.
According to Leng, the woman complied and gave the man cash in HK dollars and patacas equivalent to about 3,000 patacas, after which the man left the scene.
Investigating the case, the police identified Lam as the suspect, and arrested him in the street in Patane district near his home on Thursday night.
The police seized an occupational safety card from Lam, Leng said, adding that the police assumed that he used the card to pretend to be a police officer when extorting money from the woman.
Occupational safety cards are issued by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) confirming that the holders have passed its exam about occupational health and safety for construction sites and other workplaces.
Lam has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation, facing charges of extortion and pretending to be law enforcement officers.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the masked extortion suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters on Friday. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
