A mainland Chinese man has been arrested for allegedly pocketing HK$500,000 ($63,800) entrusted to him under a proxy betting arrangement, after gambling away both the principal and the winnings, according to Macau’s Judiciary Police as reported by various media outlets.
The suspect, aged 38, was intercepted at the Hengqin border checkpoint on Monday afternoon. He has been charged with abuse of trust involving a considerable amount, and the case has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office.
According to the reports, the victim, a non-local man, handed over HK$300,000 ($38,300) for the suspect to place bets on his behalf at a casino. The suspect won HK$200,000 ($25,500) but refused to hand over the combined sum when the victim sought to collect it at the casino, leaving on a pretext and cutting off contact.
The two men had met earlier at a casino in Macau’s NAPE district and exchanged WeChat contacts. On January 30th, the suspect offered via WeChat to gamble on the victim’s behalf for HK$500 ($64) per hour. As the victim was not in Macau at the time, he asked a friend to deliver the cash. The victim filed a police report on February 12th.
Under questioning, the suspect reportedly said he kept the money because his hourly fee was disproportionate to the profits he generated, and that he had since lost the entire sum gambling. Police seized HK$6,000 ($765) in cash and a mobile phone connected to the case.
