12 Hongkongers arrested in crackdown on gangs allegedly harassing people to collect debts
“Eleven were the registered owners of SIM cards and the remaining one allegedly worked as a debt collector,” Lam added.
He said investigations revealed some of the suspects were paid up to HK$1,000 each to carry out these crimes.
According to police, victims in need of emergency funds borrowed money from finance companies.
“When these victims were unable to repay on time, so-called action teams from the finance companies were deployed to their homes, workplaces or the residences of their friends and relatives to collect the money,” Lam said.
He said these action teams used strong-arm tactics such as splashing paint on buildings, damaging door locks and making intimidating phone calls to harass and threaten the victims, their friends or relatives, forcing them to repay the money.
After gathering evidence, police launched the operation and arrested eight men and four women between June 21 and 26.
The suspects, aged from 27 to 63, were detained on suspicion of criminal damage and intimidation – offences punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
According to the force, those arrested included a delivery worker, a waiter and a driver.
Lam said an initial investigation suggested some of the suspects were also linked to other cases of debt-related crimes that took place in different districts.
He said all the suspects had been released on bail pending further investigation.
Inspector Chow Chun-hin of the Wong Tai Sin criminal investigation unit warned that villains might misuse some debtors’ personal information to register SIM cards and make intimidating calls to other victims, or set up bank accounts to launder crime proceeds.
Police said the investigation was under way and did not rule out further arrests.
In the first five months of this year, police handled 355 reports of criminal intimidation across the city, a 2.9 per cent increase from 345 cases logged in the same period last year.
Reports of criminal damage dropped to 1,204 between January and May this year from 1,214 cases reported in the same period of 2023.