Love-struck Continue To Give Millions To Conmen

Love continues to cost some Hong Kong people dearly, according to the latest police figures, with one victim losing as much as HK$26 million in one instance.

According to the latest crime figures, there were about 160 such cases in the first four months of 2018, about two times more than the same period last year.

One victim was cheated out of HK$14 million during an eight-year cyber relationship - the longest running scam among all victims.

Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting of the Fight Crime Committee, Security Secretary John Lee expressed concern over these cases, despite a police publicity campaign on the issue. He said they will step up the campaign, but warned that there will always be con artists coming up with new tricks.

The latest figures also show there were about 17,300 crime cases in the first four months of the year, a drop of about eight percent when compared with the same period in 2017.

Lee said the number of arson, burglary and rape cases all went down.

But there was a sharp rise in the number of ecstasy pills seized in the city. Almost 30,000 were confiscated by authorities in the first four months, a jump of over 60 times.

But Lee said it doesn't mean that local demand for the drug had risen, as it is not listed as the most abused drug in Hong Kong.