The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two men from the mainland on Wednesday for usury and falsely imprisoning a female gambler, PJ spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chong identified the suspects as a 32-year-old male surnamed Wang who claimed to be jobless, and a 29-year-old construction worker surnamed Yu.
According to Chong, the police received a report from a mainland man on Wednesday afternoon that his wife was being held against her will in a hotel guestroom in Cotai due to debts from high-interest gambling loans. Upon arrival, PJ officers apprehended Wang and Yu in the guestroom.
Chong noted that on Tuesday afternoon, after the victim had gambled away all her money at a casino in Cotai, Wang persuaded her to borrow money for gambling. Once she agreed, Wang took her to a hotel guestroom to discuss the loan with another man, who was still at large at the time of the press conference. After the “negotiations”, the man agreed to lend her HK$200,000 for gambling under specific conditions. She would receive only HK$150,000 of the total amount, as she needed to come up with the remaining HK$50,000. Additionally, 25 percent of her winnings would be taken as “interest” whenever she won a round with 8 or 9 points. Furthermore, she was required to sign an IOU of 200,000 yuan and pledge her mainland resident identity card as collateral.
After the victim agreed to the terms, she handed over the IOU and her ID card to the man. Later that day, following the man’s instructions, Wang and Yu took her to a casino in Cotai to gamble. By early Wednesday morning, after the victim had gambled away all the borrowed money, they all left the casino. At 10 a.m. that same day, Wang and Yu returned to the victim’s hotel guestroom to demand repayment of the debt. When the victim was unable to repay, they refused to leave and prevented her from leaving the room. Eventually, the victim found an opportunity to call her husband who reported the case to the police on her behalf.
Chong noted that the victim was charged HK$100,000 in “interest” and was held for three hours. The police seized HK$1,600 and two mobile phones from the two suspects. Under questioning, both Wang and Yu refused to cooperate.
The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of false imprisonment and usury.
