Original subtitles

I immigrated from Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

My hometown in China was very rural.

So people would ask,

"Did you hear the sound of ghosts last night?"

We were little, so of course we got so scared.

We didn't have a television, so that was the news…

…the sound of ghosts.

In 1986, my husband and I came to San Francisco to look for jobs.

We only had 40 dollars in our pockets when we landed.

I got a job at a restaurant washing dishes.

I'd always have two or three jobs.

I really didn't have time to pay attention to my sons and their schoolwork.

Are both your sons married now?

Yes, both are married.

They live elsewhere now, not with me.

And you have one more son?

One more son whom I worry about…

He is always staying at home and not looking for work.

Seeing him makes my heart ache.

The reason parents push is simple. They want someone to carry the bloodline.

It's a Chinese thing.

Most of the pressure comes from the parents themselves,

based on traditional values.

Ah, that day…

I was at the farmers' market.

Someone approached me.

This woman with an arm sling came up to me and asked,

"Do you know a doctor named C? He sells Chinese herbs here."

I told her I've never heard of him.

So we were walking and talking,

and she said I encountered a female ghost at the street corner.

She said there will be deaths, and my son will have a car accident in three days.

I was so scared that I was on my knees begging her to help me.

She said she could help me get rid of disasters and negative energy.

"My grandfather resolves disasters and people's struggles."

Do you remember if they asked you to undergo any ceremonies?

Yes, they did.

They really made it very scary, I was terrified.

They said there would be deaths, car accidents.

That these things would happen to my son.

"To perform these rituals, bring whatever valuables you have in your home…

gold, silver, jewelry

anything you have, wrap it up, put in a bag and bring it here.

"This female ghost has chosen your son."

"She wants to take your son into the underworld

to become ghost husband and wife."

Of course my heart was panicking and

I wanted to rush to bring them back these things, right?

So I said, "My safe is in Chinatown, I would need at least a few hours."

So we made an appointment for 2:30 that afternoon.

"Do you know a doctor named C?"

"I've heard people say that he can help resolve

bad luck and disasters in your family."

"Nobody did a proper blessing for her

and so she's become a lonely, wandering ghost."

"Within these three days, your son may have no chance to escape."

"Don't forget, you can't open this bag.

If you open this bag, your son will die."

Some scammers will take advantage of people

letting their guard down to repeat old tricks.

Police have busted a blessing scam gang

who conned 11 people out of over 2 million HKD.

Jason Collom believes that the American police

can mirror the success of the Hong Kong police.

In America, we hope to do the same thing.

I am with San Francisco SAFE…

I felt reluctant.

I felt like there were some red flags.

I was just so afraid that something would happen to my family.

It was only when I started walking back

that I recalled seeing something in the news about scams.

I kept walking and thinking,

one side takes you on a bus to Chinatown,

the other side takes you to the police station.

I didn't think about which way to go. I just instinctually walked this way.

Towards the police station.

The police asked me to repeat the incident over ten times.

They took my statement, and I told them all the details.

As soon as the officer heard my story, he said, "They're scamming you."

That's when a light bulb went off in my head.

Turns out the police knew all along that these scammers existed.

I told the officer that I agreed to meet this lady back at 2:30pm.

The police told me to wrap useless items for them:

old batteries, useless things, wrap them up and put them in a bag.

So I brought the police back to the scene of the crime.

Once we got there, we waited for her.

We waited over an hour and she still hadn't shown up.

Then an officer called me and asked,

"Do you remember what the four people looked like?"

I didn't pay close attention, but I do remember

the woman who had her arm in a sling.

She was actually scamming another person.

The victim was in the middle of handing over money to them.

So they took me to identify the suspects.

And that is how they were caught.

Q: Did you come over to this country in October to steal money

from people like you did in the farmers' market?

A: No.

At approximately the end of April 2012,

the black society people came to our house

to ask my husband for repayment.

Q: Did any of them have weapons?

A: Yes, knives and guns.

Q: Now, who helped you apply for your visa to come to America?

A: Some lady whose last name is Chen. Chen Shu Moi.

"This female ghost has chosen your son."

"She wants to take your son into the underworld

to become ghost husband and wife."

"When this pregnant woman died, it was one body two souls."

"Nobody did a proper blessing for her and so

she's become a lonely, wandering ghost."

She told me that you owe people so much money,

the boss would not let you go.

She said, if you don't want to do it,

just wait to collect the corpse of your son.

I was quite scared because I've never been to court.

I was scared of testifying,

scared of being recognized by those people

and that they would seek revenge.

I was scared of all this.

It was a lot of trouble, but at the same time,

I was so angry that these people tried to trick me.

I really wanted them to catch these people.

This certificate was awarded to me by the city of San Francisco.

They said I was a hero! I don't know about being a hero.

Of course, I was very happy,

very happy that the bad guys have been caught.

Q: Who helped you apply for your visa to come to America?

A: Some lady whose last name is Chen. Chen Shu Moi.