A HOUSEWIFE phoned up strangers, pretending to be a friend who needed money, North Kowloon Court heard yesterday.
Tse Shuk-ha, 24, obtained more than $68,000 from her victims after giving a plausible story over the phone, said prosecuting counsel, Charles Chan.
He said she was caught after one of the people she phoned reported the call and she was followed when he went to deliver the money.
Tse's husband, Ho Chun-hing, 32, was arrested when he collected the money. The other victims deposited the money into a bank account.
Tse and Ho have denied 10 counts of obtaining property by deception. Also on trial is Cheung Fung-ling, 25, a correctional services officer. Deposits by victims were allegedly made into two bank accounts in her name.
Magistrate Thomas Tsang was told that the police received several reports of deception relating to requests for money made over the phone between October and January.
One of the victims received a phone call on November 26, during which a woman claiming to be his friend demanded money.
