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SCMP Reporter

A ''NAIVE and gullible'' teenager was blackmailed for $92,000 after two conmen offered to help him recoup his losses at a Macau casino, the High Court heard yesterday.

  Lee Fook-peng, 19, fell victim to an extortion racket at the Jaialai Stadium after losing $4,200 at the gambling tables on March 24 last year, the jury was told.

   As he was about to leave the casino, he was allegedly approached by defendant Chan Wing-shing and a second man who offered to lend him $5,000 to help him win back his money.

  Prosecutor Christina Ma said Chan, 29, took down Mr Lee's address and telephone number and both men disappeared into the VIP room with a $100,000 chip.

  But when Mr Lee tried to follow them, two heavies blocked his way and told him to wait outside.

  ''A short while later, they came out and said they had lost $70,000 and demanded payment with interest to the sum of $87,500,'' Ms Ma said.

  ''The naive Fook-peng said he had only wanted to borrow $5,000 and was shocked by this revelation.

   ''No one really knows what happened in that VIP room. Did they really gamble that amount of money or was it just an elaborate hoax on a gullible young man?''    The defendant, the second man, who was not in court, and two other men then forced Mr Lee on to a ferry back to Hong Kong, where they proceeded to hound his family, the jury heard.

   Chan continued to torment the teenager and his older brother, Ah-peng, in talks at a Chai Wan cafe where he raised his demand to $92,000, it was claimed.

   He allegedly told the teenager to pay the money into a certain bank account by the next day, warning him: ''If you don't repay, we know where you live.''   Mr Lee, a painter, told the court: ''I was frightened. I understood if we didn't repay the money they would take revenge.''     Chan, an egg delivery man, has denied charges of false imprisonment and blackmail on March 24 last year. He admits he was present, but says he was told to accompany Lee to Hong Kong by a friend.

  The trial, before Mr Justice Wong, continues today.



Casino hoax alleged in blackmail case