BINTULU: A retiree in her 50s lost RM170,000 to scammers who deceived her into believing she was involved in money laundering activities.
In mid-September, the woman received a call from an unknown individual claiming to represent Pos Laju. The caller asserted that an item, purportedly sent in the victim’s name, contained a debit card belonging to someone else.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said the victim denied any involvement in the matter.
Following this, the victim was connected to a Sgt Ling from Bukit Aman police. She was told that her name was linked to money laundering activities, and she was alleged to have received a commission of RM300,000.
According to Comm Mancha, the call was escalated to superiors, and the victim spoke to an Insp Khoo. She discovered that her identity card had been misused to open a bank account in Kedah, which had received a commission payment of RM300,000.
“Because of that, Khoo warned the victim of imminent arrest by the police. She was also coerced into secrecy, being told not to disclose the matter to anyone to avoid detection.
“The suspect advised the victim to appeal to the superiors and cooperate fully to assist in the investigation. From there, the call was connected to an individual named Chung.
“Chung instructed the woman to list all her bank accounts and open a new account to transfer all of her money for scrutiny by Bank Negara.
“Succumbing to the pressure, the victim opened a new account at a financial institution and transferred a total of RM170,000 from her EPF account and insurance at the end of September.”
Comm Mancha added that the victim was strictly forbidden from monitoring her bank accounts and was compelled to report to the suspect daily, maintaining absolute secrecy.
It was only on Tuesday (Nov 21) that the victim realised she had been cheated when she checked her account and found that a sum of RM170,000 had been transferred to seven unknown accounts between September and October.
Realising she had been duped, the victim promptly reported the incident to the police, and the case is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
In view of this, Comm Mancha urged the public not to entertain unknown phone calls and to immediately notify their partners, friends, or family members should they receive such phone calls. They are also advised not to readily succumb to panic, fear, or undue concern when faced with allegations if they have not committed any wrongdoing.
