The Judiciary Police (PJ) and the Public Security police (PSP) separately arrested two men from the Chinese mainland on Tuesday for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities, PJ spokesman Cheong Siu Keong and PSP spokesman Wong Wai Chon said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified one of suspects as a 40-year-old male surnamed Yuan who claimed to be jobless. Wong identified the other suspect as a male in his fifties surnamed Lin, who also claimed to be unemployed.
According to Cheong, PJ officers on patrol in a casino in the city centre on Tuesday saw Yuan engaging in an illegal exchange deal with a male gambler. Cheong noted that Yuan and the gambler agreed to exchange 300 yuan for HK$300 in chips.
Cheong said that after the transaction was completed, the gambler immediately entered the casino to gamble. The police intercepted both and seized a smartphone and HK$28,500 in chips from Yuan.
Under questioning, Yuan admitted to having engaged in illegal exchange activities in Macau since last month, claiming to have earned a total of HK$7,000.
Meanwhile, Wong announced that PSP officers on patrol along Rua do Terminal Marítimo (海港街) on Tuesday saw a man handing over cash outside a casino to Lin, who was preparing to make a money transfer using his mobile phone. Upon seeing the police officers, Lin immediately put away his phone and attempted to leave. Suspecting illegal currency exchange activities, the officers immediately intercepted the duo. The police seized HK$19,400 in cash from Lin.
Under questioning, Lin denied any involvement in the crime. Meanwhile, the man who attempted to exchange currency with Lin claimed that he had intended to exchange HK$6,000 in cash for 5,400 yuan to cover his daily expenses. However, Lin left before the transfer could be completed, and the man immediately retrieved the HK$6,000.
Both Yuan and Lin have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), each facing an illegal currency exchange charge.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows a smartphone and HK$28,500 in chips seized from one of the two illegal currency exchange suspects.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows a PSP officer escorting one of the two illegal currency exchange suspects into a police station.
