Hong Kong’s newly appointed police chief has pledged to step up international cooperation to tackle the low detection rate of rampant scam cases, while strengthening local tools to protect residents from fraud.
Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming, who assumed the top job on April 1, added that the force would not ban all protests but certain factors such as national security risks would be carefully evaluated.
Police data show deception cases had more than doubled from 19,249 in 2021 to 44,480 last year, accounting for 47 per cent of the overall crime in 2024. But the detection rate for fraud stood at only 10.6 per cent.
“Definitely we will strengthen international collaboration against fraud and scams, especially with the International Criminal Police Organization, as we found many scams involving overseas-based perpetrators,” Chow told a radio programme on Saturday.
