Four arrested in $259K withdrawal scam after hotel meetup

Police have arrested four foreigners—including a French-South African man and three women from the Philippines and Tanzania—over an alleged theft of HK$259,000 using stolen ATM cards following a hotel gathering in Wan Chai.

The case unfolded on February 24 when a local man reported that two debit cards went missing after he met two foreign women at a Wan Chai hotel. Unauthorized transactions and withdrawals totaling HK$259,000 were later traced to the cards.

The suspects, aged 31 to 43, were detained in Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long on May 7 and 8 after officers combed through footage from the "SharpEye" CCTV network. A gold chain worth HK$50,000—purchased with the stolen funds—was recovered during the operation.

All face one count of conspiracy to commit theft and will appear at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (May 10).