12 arrested in Hong Kong-Shenzhen joint operation targeting suspected fake concert tickets
More than 400 high-quality counterfeit or half-finished fake concert tickets were seized by Hong Kong and Shenzhen police in a recent crackdown on a cross-border syndicate, the city's police force said at a press conference on Sunday.
Four men, aged between 24 and 39, were apprehended in Shenzhen, including a Hong Kong man who mainly resides in mainland China and is said to be the mastermind of the syndicate.
During the raid in Shenzhen, local authorities seized suspected counterfeit tickets for ongoing and upcoming events, printing machines, invisible ink, cutters, envelopes, and other equipment used to produce the suspected fake tickets.
In Hong Kong, seven men and one woman, aged 19 to 65, were arrested for offences including conspiracy to defraud, possession of false documents, obtaining money by deception, and money laundering.
They were linked to at least 16 cases of fake concert tickets, with total estimated losses exceeding HK$100,000.
Local media reported that the tickets included the concert of South Korean pop star Kwon Ji-yong, also known as G-Dragon. Police said last week that his fans were scammed out of more than HK$610,000 worth of fake tickets to his sold-out Hong Kong concerts.
Police said the seized tickets were highly convincing, with the font, anti-counterfeit features, and paper quality closely resembling those of genuine tickets.
However, there were minor flaws that could be spotted with the naked eye, for example, differences in the wording of the English terms and conditions, as well as variations in the placement of punctuation marks in the Chinese text.
In June, eight people were arrested for allegedly selling high-quality counterfeit tickets to concerts by Cantopop star Nicholas Tse, Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, and four other musicians.
The eight suspects were part of a cross-border syndicate involved in at least 40 suspected scams, according to local media, with total losses estimated at around HK$650,000.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
Five arrested over alleged elderly care subsidy scam
Five arrested over alleged elderly care subsidy scam The ICAC's principal investigator Matthew Chang says a registered nurse and a registered occupational therapist are believed to be the masterminds of the scheme. Photo: RTHK The ICAC on Thursday said five people, aged between 27 and 57, have been arrested for allegedly defrauding the government of subsidy funds. The alleged scam first came to light when the Social Welfare Department (SWD) received a report last year that its community care service voucher scheme was being targeted by fraudsters. The scheme gives eligible elderly people vouchers to buy community care services, including day and home care, from recognised service providers. Following the report, the matter was referred to the ICAC, which arrested two men and three women last month. The anti-graft body's principal investigator, Matthew Chang, said a registered nurse and a registered occupational therapist – who operate a SWD-recognised private care agency – are believed to be the masterminds behind the alleged scam. 'The arrestees had made use of their healthcare professions, background and connections to attract members of the public to arrange for the elderly people to join the scheme and make false representations to the Social Welfare Department,' Chang said. 'The false representations include falsely claiming that the care agencies have provided home care and support service to the elderly people. The agencies, in fact, did not provide any service to the elderly at home.' The other three suspects are employees of one of the care agencies. All five have since been released on bail. The two care agencies provided services to about 20 to 200 elderly persons each month and received about HK$18 million in subsidy funding since mid-2023 until the arrests, Chang noted. However, as not all subsidy claims are fraudulent, the exact amount of the alleged fraudulent claims remains under investigation, he added. The ICAC also didn't rule out the possibility of further arrests. Jenny Yan, assistant director at the department, said the two service providers are still operating. 'Subject to the investigation result of ICAC, the SWD will consider terminating the service agreement with the service providers concerned,' she said. 'If there are any subsidies released to non-entitled bodies, the SWD shall take appropriate action to recover all the overpayments.' Yan added the department has also contacted individuals receiving services at the agencies to ensure that they have received the services they need.
HKFP
8 hours ago
- HKFP
‘Despicable': Beijing's office slams 2024 US report on ‘significant human rights issues' in Hong Kong
The Chinese foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has expressed its 'firm opposition' to a US report that found 'significant human rights issues' in the city last year. The US State Department's 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published on Tuesday, contained 'fabricated false claims' about the human rights and rule-of-law situation in Hong Kong, the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said in a statement on Wednesday evening. The US report highlighted the passage of the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – better known as Article 23 – in March 2024. The US Department of State said it had broadened the scope and definition of sedition offences and granted Hong Kong authorities 'much wider scope to detain and arrest individuals for political purposes.' The report also cited 'arbitrary arrest and detention' and 'transnational repression against individuals outside of Hong Kong.' It found 'serious restrictions' on free speech, pointing to the first round of Article 23 arrests, which involved jailed Tiananmen crackdown activist Chow Hang-tung and those who managed her social media pages. It added that the operating space for independent media 'shrank further' last year, citing visa denials faced by foreign journalists in recent years, as well as the first sedition case ruling involving the media, when a Hong Kong court convicted and jailed former editors of the defunct Stand News in August. In response, the Chinese foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said the crackdown on activities endangering national security was a 'legitimate measure' and trials in the city were 'impartial.' The US was 'rehashing' cases involving 'anti-China, destabilising forces in Hong Kong' and openly supporting them, the spokesperson said. They urged the US to stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and to respect China's sovereignty and the city's rule of law. 'This fully exposes the US's politicisation and instrumentalisation of human rights issues, as well as its sinister attempt to use Hong Kong to contain China's development — an act that is despicable,' the Commissioner's Office statement read. Separate from the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
HKFP
20 hours ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong police probe suspected illegal work linked to Amap ride-hailing services
Hong Kong police are investigating suspected illegal work linked to ride-hailing services on navigation platform Amap, following allegations that a mainland Chinese driver accepted orders without local identification documents. Police confirmed to HKFP on Wednesday that a man had filed a report two days earlier, complaining about suspected illegal work involving the use of a private vehicle for carrying passengers for hire. The case has been passed to the traffic unit of the New Territories South headquarters, and no arrests have been made so far, police said. The police force said it would continue to allocate appropriate resources to combat illegal car hire, in accordance with 'operational priorities.' 'Where sufficient evidence is available, appropriate prosecutions will be initiated,' police said in an email. A user posted on Threads on Monday, saying that he requested a ride via Alipay, which connected him to ride-hailing services on Amap. After boarding the car, the passenger realised the driver was a mainland Chinese man who only spoke Mandarin and could not understand Cantonese. Videos uploaded to the Threads post showed the passenger repeatedly asking the driver if he had a Hong Kong identity card, to which the driver replied, 'No.' When asked if he could work as a driver without local identification documents, the driver said he had entered Hong Kong with a 'business visit' permit, adding that the car was provided by his 'boss,' without specifying their identity. The driver also said that Amap did not require him to provide a Hong Kong identity card. 'You don't even know the roads in Tsuen Wan. You are basically a ticking time bomb on Hong Kong roads,' the Threads post read. A screenshot shared by the Threads user showed that the driver had accepted more than 370 orders on Amap. It is unclear whether all the trips took place in Hong Kong. The Threads user said he filed a police report after reaching his destination, and the police contacted him to give a statement on Tuesday. According to the Immigration Department's website, a business visit permit is intended for mainland residents who wish to make business trips to the city in their private capacity. The permit can be valid for a single journey or multiple journeys for a period ranging from three months to one year, with each stay not exceeding 14 days. The permit allows the holder to engage in business-related activities during the trip, such as signing contracts, submitting tenders, taking part in exhibitions or trade fairs, and attending business meetings. It does not allow the permit holder to take up any paid or unpaid employment. Offenders are liable on conviction to a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for up to two years. Earlier this month, a mainland Chinese man was jailed for two months for offering ride-hailing services via Amap and breaching his conditions of stay as a travel permit holder. Ride-hailing apps currently operate in a grey area in Hong Kong, which requires vehicles offering such services to have a hire car permit. Private vehicle owners who sign up with online platforms without a permit face a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine for a first offence. There has been no major law enforcement operation targeting ride-hailing drivers, although some have been arrested. Meanwhile, ride-hailing services – especially Uber – have grown in popularity amid long-standing dissatisfaction with taxi services. Last month, the government submitted a legislative proposal to regulate ride-hailing services. The authorities suggested capping the number of ride-hailing cars allowed in the city, but the proposal did not specify a limit.
