A 37-year-old man from the Chinese mainland has been arrested for aiding and abetting an armed hotel room robbery that netted HK$21,000, after his accomplice fled to Hengqin using an underwater propulsion device, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Wai Lok said during a special press conference yesterday.
Ho identified the two suspects, aged 37 and 36, as surnamed Song and Meng, both from the Chinese mainland.
According to Ho, the case involved two middle-aged non-local women, and the robbery took place in a Cotai hotel room in the early hours of September 23, after one of the victims, who intended to buy a property in Macau, sought to exchange currency through an illegal currency dealer.
Ho said the victims joined a WeChat group used for “illegal currency exchange” on September 22 through a friend’s introduction and came into contact with Meng. They arranged to meet at a hotel restaurant the following day, and the woman was accompanied by a female friend.
The suspect then took both women to a hotel room and asked the victim to transfer money first. When she became suspicious and asked him to show the cash, he pulled out an about 20-centimetre-long knife from the wardrobe and threatened to kill them if they refused to hand over their cash, Ho added.
Fearing for their lives, the two women handed over HK$15,000 and HK$6,000 respectively. The suspect then fled, and the victims reported the robbery to the Public Security Police Force (PSP).
According to Ho, after the robbery, Meng used an underwater propulsion device to flee Macau by sea. He was intercepted by mainland border control officers along the Hengqin coast later that day.
Ho added that, following an investigation, the Judiciary Police believe that Song helped transport the underwater propulsion device and luggage, leaving them at a convenience store near the hotel, and acted as a lookout during the crime.
Ho also said records showed that both suspects had also been involved in another robbery on December 24 last year, and had been allowed to remain in Macau subject to judicial measures prohibiting them from leaving the city and requiring them to report to the authorities periodically.
The Judiciary Police intercepted Song in the peninsula’s Nape district on Monday.
Song was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of robbery, aiding and abetting illegal immigration, and illegal stay.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort Song to a PJ car outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: MPDG
