A man from the Chinese mainland was arrested on Friday for robbery, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chao identified the suspect as a 35-year-old male surnamed Hu who told the police that he is jobless.
According to Chao, a middle-aged mainland woman was approached by Hu outside a casino in Zape on Friday at 6 p.m. Hu offered her a currency exchange deal, and since the victim needed Hong Kong dollars for shopping in Macau, she agreed to exchange 27,630 yuan for HK$30,000.
After the victim transferred the money via her mobile phone, Hu handed her HK$30,000 in cash. However, as she was counting the banknotes, he suddenly snatched the HK$30,000 back from her. When the victim attempted to get the money back, Hu slapped her on the face and fled the scene. The victim immediately reported the case to the police.
The police identified Hu as the suspect and intercepted him that night while he was attempting to leave Macau through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge checkpoint. The police later recovered all the stolen money from his hotel guestroom. Under questioning, Hu refused to cooperate.
Hu has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a robbery charge.
