Man claiming to be Saudi prince cons group by offering 'lucrative jobs'

KUALA LUMPUR: An Iraqi refugee holding an UNHCR card managed to con a group of locals, by impersonating as a Saudi Arabian prince and offered them attractive employment opportunities.
However, the victims suspected something amiss after they did not receive their salaries.
The victims, about 18 of them were promised to be paid between RM7,000 and RM15,000 depending on their jobs.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the man in his early 50's claimed that he was Prince Sheikh Prof Dr Al Mansour.
A victim, who wanted to be known as Wong, 39, said she came across a job vacancy on an employment portal in April.
"I applied for the Personal Assistant, IT Manager posts at the AMRIG International Group (Malaysia) after I came across the job advertisement. During the job interview, the man had asked me to address him as 'Royal Highness' and he told me that the company has 33 subsidiaries involving gold trade, oil and gas as well as marine and shipping," she told a media conference at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department today.
She was convinced with the interview and accepted the job offer. She started working on April 9 with a promised salary of RM7,000 per month.
The office was located at 36th floor of Menara Maxis but later moved to another location after the company failed to pay rental which accumulated to RM120,000.
She did not receive her pay until she tendered her resignation on July 2.
"When I confronted him about my salary, he promised to pay me after he received his financial support from his royal family. He said his family is very rich and he is stable financially. I trusted him then.
"The company also owed me RM21,588 for salary and overtime," she added.
The "Prince" was last seen on July 2 and disappeared after that.
Another victim, who wanted to be known as Moi in his 60's said a friend had informed him that the man was actually an Iraqi refugee in Malaysia and suspects he might not be the Arab prince as he claimed.
Chong urged those seeking for job opportunities to be wary and not be duped by such tactics.
"The ultimate sign of a job scam is when jobseekers receive offers for positions they did not apply for. The high salaries offered can cloud the victim's judgment. I believe these victims are not the first group of people to be cheated by the refugee," he added.
The victims had lodged police reports over the case.