Lisa grew up in a small rural village in Tonga. Her family are farmers and the 23-year-old lived a simple life. But she always dreamed of something bigger. So when a Tongan woman living in China contacted her through a family member with an offer of a better life, she was intrigued. …
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency and police have jointly arrested 19 people, including serving footballers and coaches, over illegal bookmaking, with one player accused of both fixing matches and handling illicit bets. Principal investigator Bill Ng Siu-kei of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that the agency and police had busted a local…
Hong Kong police have arrested 69 people linked to a syndicate suspected of laundering about HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) from cross-border investment fraud affecting more than 170 victims. The force said on Tuesday that 54 men and 15 women, aged between 18 and 60, were arrested on Monday in a joint operation with mainland Chinese…
Hong Kong customs has arrested seven people in a citywide crackdown on party rooms offering suspected illegal karaoke sets with songs that infringed copyright. The operation, code-named “Magpie”, took place between March 16 and Wednesday this week and involved more than 100 officers, who raided 14 party rooms, a bar and the homes of two…
Hong Kong police have arrested a syndicate led by a beautician that allegedly stole credit cards from patrons of a beauty salon in Mong Kok, causing losses of more than HK$410,000 (US$52,347). The force said on Thursday that four men and two women, aged between 39 and 52, had been arrested over the past two…
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities have arrested 119 people linked to a HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) racket that forged and distributed identity cards and arranged accommodation for cross-border recruits to obtain jobs illegally in the city – the largest sum recorded in such a case to date. The Immigration Department said on Thursday that…
Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s new online pension fund platform. The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to immediately suspend its paperless verification process, known as…
A 16-year-old Form Five student and a person with a triad background were among four suspects arrested by Hong Kong police in an operation targeting a criminal syndicate using bounced cheques to scam sellers of luxury items. Cheung Wai-shan, chief inspector of the force’s regional crime unit in Western district, said on Saturday that the…
Hong Kong police have arrested four people, including a 15-year-old boy, linked to four “guess who I am” phone scam cases this week totalling HK$3.7 million (US$471,900) in losses. Chief Inspector Tang Tsz-hin of Kwun Tong police district said the four formed a syndicate targeting elderly residents, with victims ranging from 55 to 90 years…