A man from the Chinese mainland was apprehended on Monday for defrauding a female mainlander out of HK$40,000 (41,000 patacas) in chips under the pretence of merely taking photos of them, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 41-year-old male surnamed Xie who claimed to be jobless.
According to Lei, the police received a report on December 19 from the victim, who said that she had been defrauded out of HK$40,000 in chips by Xie at a hotel in Cotai.
Lei noted that the victim had met Xie in early December at a casino in Cotai, and they kept in touch via WeChat thereafter. On December 19, Xie contacted the victim, falsely claiming that he had lost a significant amount of chips while gambling and requested that she lend him chips to take a photo of them to show to his family in the Chinese mainland.
After being persuaded by Xie, the victim agreed to meet him that evening in the corridor of a hotel in Cotai. At Xie’s request, she took out chips worth a total of HK$40,000. Xie took the chips and pretended to photograph them from different angles using his smartphone. However, he suddenly turned and fled with the chips. Unable to catch up, the victim immediately reported the case to the police.
The police discovered that Xie had entered Macau at the end of November and was overstaying his visa at the time of the incident. After committing the crime, Xie quickly left the casino and went into hiding in a secluded area, making himself untraceable. However, by Monday afternoon, the police located Xie gambling at a casino in Cotai and apprehended him. Officers seized 10 chips, each worth HK$1,000, along with a smartphone from Xie.
Under questioning, Xie admitted to defrauding the victim because of financial difficulties. Lei said that Xie had been frequenting various casinos during his overstay in Macau.
Xie has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
