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Seafood swindle ceased
Kowloon West Regional Crime Unit Team Five officers were recently assigned to take on a new challenge. Their target was not a murderer or robbery suspect but the staff of a dried seafood shop who swindled customers with misleading prices.
A covert operation led by Chief Inspector Peter Lo Kai-wah and Senior Inspector Lai Chung-lim was launched November 12, resulting in the arrest of seven staff of the Mong Kok shop.
Of them, six were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and were jailed for up to 13 months on July 25. The conviction was the first of its kind.
Officers posing as customers were lured to purchase dried seafood and Chinese herbs at low prices.
But once they showed interest in the products, the 'customers' were asked to settle exorbitant bills, the sales staff only saying then that the marked prices were the cost of the goods per tael instead of per catty.
When the officers refused to buy the goods, they were forbidden to leave the shop. They then arrested the staff.
CIP Lo said: "The shop was always crowded and very noisy and our officers had to exercise extra care, concentration and flexibility when dealing with the salespersons."
As the case involved traditional Chinese herbs and dried seafood, it was tried in Chinese so facts and evidence could be presented accurately.
CIP Lo said Department of Justice advice proved invaluable in the unprecedented case.
"I hope this conviction will encourage victims to report these cases and deter shop owners from committing similar offences," he said.
CIP Lo has since transferred to the KW Anti-triad Squad, while SIP Lai is now acting CIP of RCU Team Five.