2008-07-07 14:36 Please see Form B for details. 2008-07-07 14:36 Police today (July 7) charged a 56-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman with lottery fraud-related offence. In April 2008, a Chinese woman living in Canada received a call from a man who invited her to take part in a lottery for free. The woman was later told that she had won the lottery of $880,000 but was required to deposit advance fee of about $35,000 into a Hong Kong bank account. The woman did as instructed but later felt suspicious and reported the case to Hong Kong Police. Officers of the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) took over the case for investigations. The bank concerned informed Police on Saturday morning (July 5) that a 56-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman attended its branch on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and requested to withdraw money from the bank account. Police sped to the scene and arrested the duo. A subsequent search at a guesthouse nearby, where the two arrestees stayed, led to the seizure of some saving books and bank cards, as well as forged passports. The bank accounts involved a total amount of about $12 million. The duo was charged with dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence while the man was also charged with possession of forged travel documents. They will appear in Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts this afternoon. Meanwhile, extensive investigations by CCB officers led to further arrest of a 41-year-old woman in a residential unit in Hung Hom yesterday afternoon (July 6). Her 45-year-old husband later surrendered to the Police. They are suspected to be in connection with the case and are still being detained for further enquiries. |