A technician and his family have been arrested on suspicion of a 55 000-US-dollar fraud involving a home-made machine to top up smart cards, Hong Kong police said on Thursday.
The 26-year-old is alleged to have built the machine from parts he stole while working for a company responsible for maintaining the machines, which are used to add money to the Octopus stored-value cards issued by Hong Kong rail operator, the MTR Corporation.
According to police, the machine enabled the 26-year-old to fraudulently add 430 000 Hong Kong dollars (55 000 US dollars) to 61 cards since November, which he used for a spending spree.
The cards, originally created by the MTR to pay train fares, are widely accepted as payment in shops, restaurants and entertainment venues throughout the city.
Customers add money to them using machines in MTR stations and shops.
The technician, who has not been named, was being questioned on Thursday following his arrest on Tuesday.
His wife, elder sister and father were also arrested but were released on bail.
Senior Inspector Collins Li Ka-wai said police were alerted when the MTR Corporation and Octopus Holdings detected unusual activity on the cards' network which did not match their records.
The police said it was the first case of its type since Octopus cards were launched in 1997. They said because of the way the cards worked, the MTR had lost out and not the retailers who accepted the cards. - Sapa-dpa