Hong Kong Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee (L) arrives at a press conference about the crime and police work in the city. Photo by Jerome Favre/EPA-EFE
Jan. 27 (UPI) — Hong Kong police on Thursday reported an increase in online scams last year, including a 24% rise in fraud cases, of which 70% of happened over the internet.
Overall, Hong Kong saw a total of 64,428 crimes in 2021, a 1.9% increase over 2020, according to data published by the Hong Kong Police Force.
Officials blamed the overall rise in crime on a large number of fraud cases — an increase of more than 3,000 — as well as increases in homicide, rape, extortion and police-initiated crimes such as drug offenses, among others.
The huge number of fraud cases was driven by part-time girlfriends, online dating, investment and job-seeking scams, among other schemes, officials reported.
Police said the number of violent crimes increased by 2.1% in 2021, a 196-crime increase, to 9,587.
On the upside, however, police reported that robberies and burglaries declined by 53% and 30%, respectively.
Hong Kong also saw declines in burglary, arson and theft, in addition to ten-year-lows for looting and pickpocketing.
“The police will continue to strengthen intelligence collection, actively use different media and activities to enhance the public’s awareness and resilience to local terrorism and self-aggrandizing behaviors and encourage citizens to make reports,” police officials said in…
