The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two cross-dressers from the Philippines for stealing money from a customer on Monday, PJ spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspects a 21-year-old unemployed person surnamed Montero and a 28-year-old makeup artist surnamed Pascual. Both entered Macau as visitors.
According to Cheong, at around 3:00 a.m. on Monday, a visitor encountered the two suspects near a hotel in Zape. The duo approached him and offered massage services, Cheong said, adding that the trio then returned to the victim’s hotel room.
After placing his crossbody bag – which contained HK$58,000 (59,784 patacas) in cash – by the bedside, the victim went into the bathroom. During their stay, the duo gave the victim a massage.
After the massage, the victim took HK$1,000 from his bag to pay them, whereupon the duo departed. Upon checking his bag, the victim discovered that HK$41,000 had vanished, leaving only HK$16,000, according to Cheong.
The victim immediately went to search for the duo in the surrounding streets. After finding them at around 5:00 a.m., he reported the matter to the police, Cheong said, adding that the Public Security Police (PSP) later transferred the case to the Judiciary Police for further investigation.
Cheong said the investigation revealed that on that day the duo had been targeting potential victims in Zape and conspired together in the crime. PJ officers seized HK$41,000 in cash from the hotel guestroom where the duo were staying.
Cheong also noted that the Judiciary Police will continue to investigate whether the pair have been involved in other crimes, such as prostitution, adding that no further victims had been identified at the time of the press conference.
The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, each facing a charge of theft.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the two hooded cross-dressers from the Philippines to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
