The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man from the Chinese mainland on Sunday for cheating three illegal currency exchange dealers out of 223,300 yuan (260,000 patacas) using counterfeit gambling chips, PJ spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a special press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspect as a 38-year-old male surnamed Liu who claimed to be jobless. The victims are three middle-aged men from the Chinese mainland who engaged in illegal currency exchange activities in Macau.
According to Cheong, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a report from the casino security and a referral from the Public Security Police (PSP) on Sunday about two fraud cases involving counterfeit casino chips.
Cheong noted that the first victim engaged in an illegal currency exchange deal with a man, who was still at large at the time of the press conference, in a hotel guestroom at an integrated resort in Cotai early Sunday morning. The victim transferred 133,500 yuan to the man’s designated account in exchange for chips worth HK$140,000. After receiving the transfer, the man left the scene and quickly exited Macau. The victim later noticed something was amiss with the chips, and after consulting with casino staff, they were confirmed to be counterfeit. Realising that he had been scammed, the victim reported the case to the casino security department.
Cheong said that the second victim met Liu at the same casino on Saturday and offered a currency exchange deal. Early Sunday morning, Liu contacted the second victim, claiming he could exchange HK$100,000 in chips for 89,800 yuan. The second victim, along with the third victim, went to the hotel’s entrance to complete the exchange with Liu. They transferred a total of 89,800 yuan to Liu’s account and received 10 chips valued at HK$10,000 each. The second victim found the chips suspicious, leading to a noisy row that alerted hotel security and the Public Security Police (PSP).
Cheong added that during the dispute, Liu buried the 10 counterfeit chips in a flowerbed near the hotel. The police later recovered all the counterfeit chips and seized a smartphone from Liu.
Cheong noted that the bogus chips were similar in size and weight to genuine chips, making them difficult to discern. However, there were slight differences in colour and the laser sticker. Additionally, they did not contain a chip inside.
Liu has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded fraud suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Ada Lei
