Lovers left high and dry after claiming shop ran rose scam

At least 50 people were broken-hearted after reporting that they fell victim to a "99 roses" sales scam on Valentines' Day by an online florist.

The victims said they failed to get the flowers after paying an online shop, which offered a deal of 99 roses for HK$1,000 - or more depending on the date of order.

Some 99 roses fetched around HK$5,000 at the flower market on Sunday.

At least five victims have posted their previous conversations with a shop called "Faithful Florist" on a Facebook page dedicated to gathering evidence of the alleged fraud. They said they each transferred money between HK$1,200 to HK$1,400 to the shop's bank account.

One of the victims, who ordered roses worth HK$1,400 on February 4, told The Standard that he filed a police report against Faithful Florist for online business fraud.

The victim, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was supposed to receive the flowers on Saturday night, but failed to get them by 11.30pm.

He said the flower shop did not message him back or answer the phone on Saturday night.

"I think a lot of the victims share the same thought: that the lost money wasn't a big deal, but that it was upsetting to have caused disappointment to our other half," he said.

Another customer, Chan, who ordered HK$2,300 worth of yellow roses, said he did not receive the order at the designated time of 9am on Valentine's Day and was unable to contact any shop representatives.

He found out that at least 50 people had commented on the shop's now-deleted Facebook page that they had not received their orders. The complainants said they had lost HK$1,000 to HK$3,000 each.

Separately, police received a report from a 35-year-old woman, surnamed Kwok, who quarreled with her boyfriend on Valentine's Day.

The boyfriend allegedly attacked her at a restaurant in Cheong Hong Commercial Centre in Tsing Yi.

The 30-year-old man, Wong, fled after allegedly stealing about HK$10,000 worth of valuables from Kwok, including her wallet, phone and cash.

The case has been classified as snatching. No arrests had been made as of yesterday.

A police spokesman said the woman was sent to Princess Margaret Hospital to treat her swollen jaw and neck and injured fingers.

Meanwhile, a 42-year-old man, Leung, was injured in the head after his girlfriend Chong, 41, allegedly threw an object at him during a dispute at a residential building on Canton Road, Mong Kok, at 8pm on Sunday.

maisy.mok@singtaonewwscorp.com