Hong Kong police arrest jobless man after video emerges of suspected road accident scam
- Footage of incident outside Laguna City housing estate shows man rushing out towards moving car and jumping onto its bonnet before walking away
- Police arrest suspect for attempted fraud during raid on his Kwun Tong home, seize clothing he allegedly wore at time of incident
Hong Kong police have arrested a jobless 21-year-old resident after a viral video emerged of a man throwing himself onto the bonnet of a car in an apparent attempt to fake a road accident.
The incident – captured in a 10-second clip – took place outside the Laguna City housing estate at the junction of Cha Kwo Ling Road and Sin Fat Road in Lam Tin on Sunday night, according to police.
The footage shows a man, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, suddenly rushing out from the pavement towards a moving car, which is forced to stop to avoid hitting him. The man jumps onto the car’s bonnet only to then walk away.
Detectives from the Kwun Tong criminal investigation unit began looking into the case after the video circulated online earlier this week.
After checking surveillance camera footage, officers arrested the 21-year-old for attempted fraud during a raid on his Kwun Tong home on Thursday and seized clothing he had allegedly worn during the incident.
Inspector Yu Wai-sim, of the criminal investigation unit, said police were still looking into his exact motive and urged the public to lodge a report if they encountered scams involving fake road accidents.
The man has been released on bail and is required to report back to police next month.
Motorists warned to be alert to ‘fake road accidents that are extortion attempts’
The force had last month warned motorists about road scams after a video emerged of a man rushing out and diving to the ground in front of a vehicle, which managed to stop in time to avoid hitting him. In the incident in Mong Kok, the man remained on the ground, holding his head in his hands and pretending to be injured.
“Go away. [Your act] has been captured [on video]”, the driver could be heard telling the man, who then stood up and walked away.
According to police, the man appeared to have feigned injury in a suspected “Pengci” scam, but his alleged attempt to extort money from the driver was unsuccessful.
“Pengci”, which means “porcelain bumping”, is a common phrase originally referring to a scam in which people tried to have expensive-looking china broken so they could demand compensation.
