A 23-year-old Indonesian migrant worker was arrested by Macau judiciary police for alleged fraud and impersonating an immigration officer when he conned a Filipina job-seeker out of money for a non-existent job.
The suspect surnamed Februyanto, said to be a worker at a health spa at the Porto Exterior ferry terminal, impersonated a Macau resident named “Ah Long” on social media and exchanged messages with a Filipina who was looking for a job, Macao Daily News reported.
Talking on social media, “Ah Long” told the Filipina that he knew an immigration officer surnamed Kwan who could help her to get a job and stay in Macau. In November last year, the Filipina agreed to pay 14,000 Macau patacas (US$1,729) to Kwan.
In an attempt to gain more trust from the Filipina, the suspect asked the woman to bring the money and her identification documents to the Immigration Department building for processing. When the suspect appeared, he was wearing an ID around his neck, prompting the woman to believe that he was the officer called Kwan whom she had come to meet.
However, it turned out that neither Ah Long nor officer Kwan existed, and that the suspect had impersonated them both.
After handing over the money, the woman was unable to get in contact with “Kwan”.
Through a three-month investigation and with the help of facial recognition, police located the Indonesian migrant worker and arrested him at his workplace on Monday.
The suspect admitted that he had spent all the money given to him by the Filipina. His case was referred to the public prosecution office.