A 76-year-old woman in Tai Kok Tsui received a call earlier from a man who claimed to be his son, claiming that he was involved in a criminal case and was arrested. He asked the woman to pay 100,000 yuan in bail.
Unexpectedly, the old woman made payment fraudulently. After contacting her family, she was surprised to be cheated, so she reported to the police for help.
However, some people were suspicious. The old woman received another call from a man on the next day (17th) after reporting the crime. The other party asked the reporter to pay a bail of about 300,000 yuan at a designated place in the same way. The reporter suspected fraud. So report again.
The task force of the Mong Kok Police District arrived at the scene and arrested a 32-year-old local man in a unit on Bowen Street at about 2 pm on the same day. He was suspected of "obtaining property by deception".
The police also found another man acting suspiciously on Bowen Street. After preliminary investigation, they suspected that he was related to the case. The 32-year-old local man was also arrested on suspicion of "obtaining property by deception".
During the operation, officers seized 2 mobile phones.
All those arrested are being detained for investigation.
The case was handed over to Team 1 of the Mong Kok District Criminal Investigation Team for follow-up.
The police investigation is still ongoing and it is not ruled out that more people will be arrested.
The police reiterated that anyone who commits the crime of "obtaining property by deception" under Section 17 of the Theft Ordinance, Chapter 210 of the Laws of Hong Kong, is liable to a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
The police are highly concerned about phone scams and have the following appeals:
(1) Anyone claiming to be a relative or friend over the phone, referring to a new phone number, and asking the victim to borrow money or remit money, may be a fraud;
(2) Citizens should take the initiative to care for their relatives and friends, especially the elderly, and share the above anti-deception information with them to prevent them from becoming the next victims;
(3) If members of the public have any doubts, they should call the "Anti-Scam 18222" hotline for enquiries.