The Judiciary Police (PJ) nabbed two men from the Chinese mainland for usury and false imprisonment of a male gambler on Labour Day, PJ spokesman Cheong Un Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspects as a 41-year-old male surnamed Tan and a 35-year-old male surnamed Lin; both claimed to be jobless. Cheong also said that there were two more suspects still at large at the time of the press conference.
According to Cheong, on Friday afternoon, the Judiciary Police received a call from the victim who said that he was being held captive in a hotel guestroom in Zape due to unpaid debts. Upon receiving the report, PJ officers were dispatched to the scene, Cheong said, where they rescued the victim and arrested Tan and Lin.
According to Cheong, the investigation revealed that the victim was approached by loan sharks in the casino around 11 p.m. on April 30, offering him an instant loan for gambling.
After negotiations, Cheong said, the victim agreed to borrow HK$30,000 (30,900 patacas) on the condition that he first transfer 17,000 yuan as “interest” and sign an IOU for HK$30,000.
The victim then transferred the “interest” and signed the IOU, after which the loan sharks handed over chips worth HK$30,000 for the victim to gamble with, Cheong said.
After about two hours of gambling, Cheong said that the victim gambled away all the chips, after which the loan sharks took the victim to the guestroom where he was held against his will, telling him that he could not leave until the debt was fully repaid, adding that after being held for about 11 hours, the victim managed to phone the Judiciary Police.
Tan and Lin have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of false imprisonment and usury.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Armindo Neves
