Hong Kong police have arrested two mainland Chinese men on suspicion of attempting to open bank accounts using false documents.
An HSBC branch in Mong Kok. Photo: Google Maps.
The duo, a 54-year-old surnamed Kwok and a 71-year-old surnamed Wong, were detained for investigation following their arrests for allegedly using false instruments.
The two tried to open bank accounts with suspected false documents at an HSBC branch in Mong Kok on Wednesday morning, police said.
Police said the two suspects were friends, and that they held two-way exit permits for coming to Hong Kong.
The case is being handled by officers at the force’s Mong Kok District Crime Division.
The Hong Kong Police Force headquarters in Wan Chai. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.
The incident came a day after two mainland Chinese individuals, also holders of two-way exit permits, were arrested after showing suspected false documents and attempting to make a HK$50 billion deposit into an account at an HSBC branch in Central.
The pair, a 65-year-old man surnamed Zhang and a 50-year-old woman surnamed Sun, were arrested on Wednesday morning on suspicion of using false instruments, police said.
The maximum penalty for using a false instrument is 14 years’ imprisonment.
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Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.