Police are searching for three women after a senior was told she had a curse, then robbed of her valuables.
The robbery occurred Sunday, in the area of Gerrard Street East and Logan Avenue, police said.
A Chinese elderly woman was approached by three unknown women who spoke to her in Cantonese. The women discussed various health ailments, and encouraged the senior to discuss her problems, officers said in a statement Monday.
After hearing the senior's health problems, the women told her that her ailments were the result of a curse, police said. She was convinced that she should go home and collect her valuables and money, then see a "doctor" for a blessing.
Police said the woman went home, then returned to the area with a "large sum of money," gold coins and jewelry. She handed over her valuables to one of the three women, who told the senior to wait while they took her possessions to be blessed.
The women returned a short time later and handed the bag back to the senior, telling her not to look inside it for several days or the items would lose their blessing, police said. She took the bag and walked home.
The senior later became suspicious, and decided to look in her bag. She discovered that all of her valuables were gone and had been replaced by fruit.
Police are searching for three Asian women who were in the area at the time. One of the women was in her mid-40s, wearing a long red coat, jeans and a hat. Another is approximately the same age, and was wearing a short red coat. There is no further description of the third woman.
Investigators believe that there may be more victims, and are urging anyone with more information to contact police at 416-808-5500. Information can also be left anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 (TIPS).
