Two female Singapore nationals have reported to police that they were scammed in an alleged investment scheme in a casino VIP room in Macau, according to the Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) last Monday, March 6.
The unpleasant incident started last year in Singapore, when the two ladies met with a 52-year-old male local of the city-state who informed them that he owned a company in Macau that operates a VIP room inside a casino. He then encouraged the two ladies to invest in this kind of business since it has potentially high revenue.
The women’s interests were piqued, and so on December 18 last year, they journeyed to Macau where the suspect took them to a VIP room of an unnamed casino, in which he claimed belonged to his company.
The two women ultimately decided to invest US$50,000 each (approximately MOP400,000) and they have deposited the entire amount in an account that was set up inside the VIP room.
Unfortunately, the ladies agreed with the suspect’s assurance that the signing of contracts can be dealt with at a later time, insisting that it is a formality not requiring immediate attention. After that, the man disappeared without a trace, prompting the two women to file a complaint to the PJ on January 2017.
The authorities began to investigate on the scam, and on March 2, they caught the suspect while he was trying to leave Macau. The man confessed, and he admitted that the cash was immediately withdrawn from the account right after it was deposited. He also admitted that he does not have ownership of the casino VIP room, aside from only having an account opened there.
As for the money, he said that he had lost it all – gambling at a different Macau VIP room.
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