Online scams drive increase in crimes in Hong Kong: police | #datingscams | #lovescams

Hong Kong police recorded a total of 64,428 criminal cases last year, an increase of 1.9 percent compared to 2020, it was announced on Thursday.

It was driven by a 24 percent increase in fraud cases to 19,249, with over 70 percent of them happening online.They involved part time girlfriends, online dating, investment, and job seeking scams.

There was also a rise in the number of serious drug crimes, whose number increased to 1,570 last year from 1,149 in 2020. There was a jump in the amount of drugs confiscated, with the number of MDMA confiscations rising from around 5,900 to over 62,000.

In addition, police saw a 60 percent increase in child abuse cases, including those involving the Child’s Residential Home in Mong Kok. Siu said five more policemen will join the 21-man team reviewing the children home’s CCTV footage, with the hope of completing investigations within a month.

The police’s national security department arrested 162 people for violating the National Security Law, with over 100 of them prosecuted so far. The force also froze around HK$150 million worth of assets in last year’s operations.

“The police bust of Returning Valiant group and the stabling of a policeman on July 1 last year showed the threat of terrorist activities in Hong Kong. We will step up our efforts on intelligence and we urge the public to report to us any suspicious people or activities,” police commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said. 

The force’s statistics showed a decrease in the number of robbery cases from 264 to 123, a drop of over 50 percent, as well as only 1,472 cases of burglary, the lowest since 1969.

Asked about the “party-gate”, Siu, said he attended National People’s Congress delegate Witman Hung Wai-man’s birthday party on January 3 “to promote district police work”.

Siu said he had no private connections with Hung, but they have long worked together on road safety, as Hung had over 25 years of experience in the Hong Kong Road Safety Patrol.

The commissioner refused to disclose further details about the party, citing ongoing investigation. He also said he acted responsibly by going to Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre.