The Public Security Police (PSP) arrested a man from the Chinese mainland on Sunday for hotel room booking fraud, PSP spokeswoman Lai In Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Lai identified the suspect as a businessman in his forties surnamed Yu.
According to Lai, the police received a report in late December from a woman from the Chinese mainland who said that she had used a smartphone application to purchase a two-night stay in a hotel guestroom on Estrada do Istmo (路氹连贯公路) for 1,988 yuan (2,288 patacas) in Cotai from Yu. They arranged to meet at Estrada do Istmo for the transaction on December 21, during which the victim obtained the guestroom key. After staying for one night, she returned to her room the following evening and discovered that her key card had become invalid and that someone else was occupying her room. She attempted to contact the man but was unsuccessful. Suspecting she had been scammed, she immediately reported the case to the police.
Using their citywide CCTV surveillance footage, the police identified Yu as the suspect and apprehended him at the Macau-Hengqin joint checkpoint as he was re-entering Macau. Under questioning, Yu denied the crime.
Yu has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the fraud suspect into a police station.
