Hong Kong police arrest 11 people, including 14- year-old teen, linked to staged traffic accidents
- Authorities plan to charge 24-year-old alleged male mastermind and 22-year-old female accomplice, as well as a 15-year-student
- Suspects staged minor traffic accidents to extract compensation from drivers for purported injuries inflicted during collisions, police say
Hong Kong police have arrested 11 people, including a 14-year-old teenager, over their suspected involvement in an alleged conspiracy to defraud victims by staging traffic accidents.
Authorities planned to charge the 24-year-old alleged male mastermind and a 22-year-old female accomplice, as well as a 15-year-student, Michael Law Like-him, chief inspector of the New Territories North regional crime unit, said on Saturday.
The trio will appear at Fanling Court on Monday.
The suspects were alleged to have staged minor traffic accidents in a bid to convince the drivers they were responsible and demanded compensation for the purported injuries suffered, Law said.
He said the case came to light on April 11 when staff from a secondary school in Tuen Mun called police for help after the alleged mastermind, along with two women aged 22 and 23, attempted to take the 15-year-old student with them.
The chief inspector said the alleged mastermind was found to be involved in 44 minor traffic accidents between October last year and March, and as many as two cases a day at one stage.
“This is an unusual situation,” he said.
He pointed out that 10 of the traffic accidents involved the 15-year-old student, and the two female accomplices, who acted as passengers and claimed to have been injured from the collisions.
Law said although all the accidents were minor in nature, 16 drivers had given monetary compensation to the mastermind “out of guilt for injuring a minor”.
With the assistance of the school, police discovered the alleged mastermind had actively recruited students as passengers, who would falsely claim to be injured after a traffic accident occurred.
Law revealed that the police arrested another seven secondary school student suspects on Friday, including five boys and two girls aged 14 and 15 in Tuen Mun. He said they played the role of passengers, with some of them claiming they were injured in the accidents.
The seven suspects were released on bail.
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Law said the angle of the collisions and force involved were “completely uncontrollable”.
“It is evident that the criminal did not consider the personal safety of these young individuals,” he said.
Law said most of the students involved in the case came from underprivileged families, whose parents were often busy.
“The criminals took advantage of this opportunity by enticing them into committing illegal acts through free entertainment, meals and monetary support, but ultimately this destroyed their future,” he said.
The force urged young people not to trust strangers who provided them with so-called lucrative job opportunities.
In Hong Kong, conspiracy to defraud is punishable by up to 14 years in jail under the Theft Ordinance.
