A victim of an online romance scam delivered tapestry flags to officers of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) in appreciation of their professionalism and devotion to duty. In this regard, Director of Crime and Security Li Chi-hang presented the flags, on behalf of the victim, to CSTCB officers on March 15 and commended the officers for their outstanding performance.

The victim met a scammer posing as a foreign businessman on a social media platform in 2015. After striking up a relationship with the victim online, the scammer lured the victim into transferring over HK$1.1 million to a number of bank accounts in Malaysia. CSTCB officers investigated the case and identified a Malaysia-based crime syndicate as the suspect. In 2016, CSTCB officers launched "Operation QUIVERLINE" jointly with the Malaysian police and arrested in Malaysia two masterminds and 12 core members of the syndicate, who were involved in swindling over HK$136 million from Hong Kong in 182 cases. With CSTCB's assistance, the victim attended court hearings in person in Malaysia early this year. Twelve defendants have been convicted so far.