LABUAN: A public university student was made RM43,470 poorer after falling prey to a Macau scam, recently.
Labuan police chief Supt Muhamad Farid Ahmad said the 22-year-old female student was contacted by an unidentified man claiming to be a ‘policeman’ on Dec 7.
He said the ‘policeman’ stated that the victim’s telephone line had long been used for illegal gambling and money laundering activities.
“The suspect threatened the victim if she did not want the authorities to take any action against her, she would have to pay some money.
“Worried, the victim immediately made the money transaction totalling RM43,470 via an ATM machine into four accounts provided by the scammer at 10am,” he told Bernama yesterday.
About a week before the student’s case, a 21-year-old man was also duped by a syndicate into a loan scheme resulting in the loss of his savings amounting to RM12,740 on Dec 2 at 5.27pm.
The man ended up transferring the money into a bank account provided by the syndicate which claimed it would disburse a loan of RM30,000 to him.
Muhamad Farid said both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and whipping, and a fine if convicted. — Bernama
