A Filipina domestic helper who apparently committed jaywalking in a Hong Kong street has been reportedly conned out of HK$500 by two impostors posing as local police officers.
According to a report by Apple Daily, the helper was accosted by the two men claiming to be police officers after she crossed an intersection of Sands Street and Belcher’s Street on red pedestrian light.
Having received a warning that she will be taken to a police station if she did not pay money ostensibly as fine for jaywalking, the men demanded her to pay HK$500. The duo was described as wearing brown-colored shirts with the word “POLICE” emblazoned on them.
The woman narrated her ordeal to her employer who was convinced that the men were scammers and not members of Hong Kong Police.
After the matter was reported to authorities, an investigation is now being launched.
The two men, if caught, could face a jail term of up to 14 months for committing fraud and impersonation.
Lawyer Albert Luk Wai-hung reminded the public that law enforcement officers in Hong Kong never ask residents to pay fines right on the spot.