A couple who survived the deadly Tai Po blaze last year have been barred from leaving Hong Kong pending trial for allegedly obtaining more than HK$330,000 (US$42,000) in government-guaranteed loans by overstating the decline in revenue of their decoration business. Former Wang Fuk Court residents Jason Kong Cheung-fat, 65, and Rosanna Cheung Yeuk-lan, 62, appeared…
Hong Kong police have arrested a 19-year-old university student accused of swindling more than HK$3 million from a man after apparently being hoodwinked by scammers herself. Inspector Wu Kwan-yu of Tseung Kwan O police district’s intelligence section said on Wednesday that officers arrested the female student the previous day on suspicion of impersonating mainland Chinese…
The finance director of a private college in Hong Kong has been remanded in custody on suspicion of embezzling HK$41 million (US$5.2 million) over three years, with his wife and an engineering contractor also denied bail for allegedly handling the illicit proceeds. Ray Yip Kam-chun, 49, appeared in Tuen Mun Court on Wednesday to face…
Hong Kong police have arrested eight people over an alleged compensated-dating scam syndicate that cheated victims, including teachers and healthcare workers, out of HK$6.2 million (US$790,000) by telling them they had to pay a “legal fee” to formalise contracts to become “sugar babies”. Police said on Monday that they had investigated 80 cases involving scammers…
Hong Kong police have arrested 147 people after uncovering a triad syndicate suspected of setting up centres to coordinate bank accounts and handle HK$600 million (US$76 million) in allegedly illicit proceeds. Police said on Sunday that they had conducted a citywide operation code-named “Rapidhorse” over the previous two days against the syndicate allegedly operating drug…
Hong Kong police have arrested 25 people, some as young as 13, in a crackdown on a loan shark syndicate that charged victims annual interest rates of up to 282 per cent. Police said on Thursday that the triad-linked crime ring had loaned HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) to about 2,000 residents over the past year,…
The son of a former mainland Chinese official has been jailed for six years and nine months for using deceptive means to secure residency in Hong Kong and laundering more than HK$64 million (US$8.2 million), including a bribe his father allegedly sought a decade ago. The District Court on Thursday sentenced Xiao Rui, 37, on…
Hong Kong police arrested 991 people and discovered betting records amounting to HK$365 million (US$46.5 million) during a crackdown on illegal gambling during the World Cup. The force said on Tuesday that it raided 249 premises suspected of being linked to illegal gambling during its enforcement campaign in June and July that targeted activities surrounding…
A former Hong Kong fencer has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for laundering more than HK$10 million (US$1.27 million), saying in mitigation that he opened the mule accounts to “make a quick buck”. The District Court on Tuesday heard the guilty pleas from Chiu Man-to, 26, who admitted to laundering…
Hong Kong police have arrested 65 people in a crackdown on a criminal syndicate accused of running unlicensed nightclubs and gambling dens, where suspects allegedly served illicit drugs and hired illegal workers as hostesses. Superintendent Ching Chi-yan said on Sunday that the force’s intelligence indicated a criminal syndicate was running illegal nightclubs inside industrial buildings…