Police arrest five on suspicion of selling fake tickets to Cantopop star Andy Lau’s concerts

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of selling fake tickets to Cantopop star Andy Lau Tak-wah’s sought-after concerts.

Police said on Saturday that they arrested five men, aged 18 to 45, between December 27 last year to January 3 this year for allegedly selling counterfeit tickets for Lau’s concerts, which are running until January 10 at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom.

The force received 20 reports regarding the counterfeit tickets, with their investigation leading to the arrests. The suspects allegedly sold the counterfeits for HK$2,000 to HK$5,000, involving a total amount of over HK$80,000, said a police spokesman.

The five were arrested on suspicion of obtaining property by deception, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, and were granted bail pending further investigation.

The spokesman said the tickets seized during the investigation bore the anti-counterfeit features of official tickets, including the texture, the font, the QR code, and anti-counterfeit labels, which citizens could find hard to spot the difference.

The spokesman also noted that the scammers would usually propose meeting the victims to complete the transaction and verify the tickets, thereby gaining their trust.

“Members of the public should not purchase event tickets through non-official means or without knowing their origins,” the spokesman added.