16-year-old Hong Kong student among 4 arrested over HK$380,000 luxury item scam
Cheung Wai-shan, chief inspector of the force's regional crime unit in Western District, said on Saturday that the syndicate was responsible for at least 16 cases amounting to HK$380,000 (US$48,568).
The scammers would approach sellers on online buy-and-sell platforms to purchase luxury watches, audio systems or expensive electronics, according to police.
'They would purchase mule accounts which have no actual balances and use their chequebooks to deposit funds into the sellers' accounts,' she said.
The sellers would hand over the items by post or in person, mistakenly believing that the payment had been deposited into their accounts, only to realise a few days later that they had been scammed when the cheques bounced.
'The syndicate would then resell the items for profit,' she added.
Police investigations revealed a syndicate operating across Hong Kong using these methods.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Pouring over the facts: what is behind Hong Kong's water procurement scandal?
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of being at the centre of a rapidly unfolding controversy surrounding a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to some government offices. The pair allegedly defrauded the government and are suspected of breaching the Trade Descriptions Ordinance by providing false information about the product manufacturer. The unprecedented fiasco over the contract, which was among the first of its kind awarded to a mainland Chinese company in June, has raised questions about the government's tendering process and how due diligence is conducted. With a criminal investigation and official probe under way, the Post breaks down the nature of the scandal and the questions that remain unanswered. What is the company behind the winning bid? The company at the centre of the controversy is Xin Ding Xin Trade Co Ltd. Founded in 2007 in Hong Kong, Xin Ding Xin is led by director Lui Tsz-chung, who lives in Sai Wan Ho, with shareholder Chan Pik-lam sharing the same residential address. A search in the Companies Registry shows the firm was originally incorporated as Wellco Investment (Group) Limited before adopting its current name in 2009.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai was set on using US links for anti-China actions, court hears
Hong Kong prosecutors have hit out at former media owner Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for likening his appeals for foreign intervention to a transnational partnership among law enforcement authorities, while arguing his 'persistent' collaborations with US political figures showed his determination to instigate anti-China measures. The prosecution on Monday began wrapping up its evidence against the Apple Daily founder at the closing stage of his marathon national security trial at West Kowloon Court after two enforced adjournments. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang dismissed the defence's contention that Lai was merely exercising his fundamental rights protected by the city's constitutional documents, including the Basic Law. He referred to a passage of the prosecution's court filing that said it was 'surprising to see that [Lai] raised freedoms of thought and association as his shield'. Chau also highlighted a point made in the defence's written submission that sought to compare what Lai did at the material time with the cooperation between the Department of Justice and the International Association of Prosecutors. 'We submit it is inconceivable they sought to draw this analogy. It is totally incomprehensible and we find it absurd to make this example,' Chau said.
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police arrest couple for fraud in HK$52.9 million water procurement scandal
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of defrauding the government in connection with a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to civil service offices. Advertisement Kung Hing-fun, the senior superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau of Police, said on Monday that the man, 61, and woman, 57, were arrested the previous day. Kung added that the married couple were the owners of a company that had secured a 36-month water deal, and that a mainland Chinese man was still at large. The Post has learned the company in question is called Xin Ding Xin Co. Ltd. She also said that the deal stipulated supplying bottled water to certain government offices, but the product was sourced from a third-party supplier in Dongguan rather than a Guangzhou-based company as specified in the contract. The company mentioned in the contract was named Robust, the Post learned. Wong Chun-yue, the bureau's chief superintendent, said the Guangzhou firm learned from the news that it was selected as the contract supplier, adding that the company which won the contract only asked once about water quality and had no further communication. Advertisement 'We believe the suspects used the Guangzhou company's water quality documents to meet tender requirements,' Wong said.
