Students left in the lurch after phone deal goes sour

• Compiled by NG SI HOOI and RAHIMY RAHIM

A VENTURE by a group of students to sell cheap smartphones to their friends turned into a nightmare when the main online supplier fled after taking RM1mil, reported Harian Metro.

The victims received rape threats, their houses being surrounded and assault threats from gangsters after they failed to return the money to their customers.

The victims, who wanted to be known as Natasha, 17, Farisha, 18, and Fazrul, have been living in fear for several months and they finally lodged a report with the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) last Sunday.

Natasha said she got to know the main supplier through the mobile application WeChat and decided to meet not long after to discuss their business plans.

Based on the business pitch, she said that the products shown to her looked authentic but were sold well below the market price.

“The supplier, who claimed to have had previous experience in mobile phone dealings, asked us to pre-order the cheap mobile phones.

“After several orders, we received positive response and handed the supplier about RM45,000.

“In July, our business ran into problem when the supplier said there was no more stock and did not want to entertain our calls and gave all sorts of reasons,” she said.

“I felt something was wrong when the supplier deactivated the website and could no longer be reached.”

She said she still had about RM250,000 to settle with her custo­mers after she received help from her parents, who sold a house at RM200,000 to pay off her debts.

Another victim, Farisha, said her online business started off well after receiving orders from all over the country including Sabah and Sarawak.

“I managed to sell about 90 units but then the supplier deleted all access from Facebook and did not return my calls.

“The problem started when my customers asked me to return about RM100,000 at one time,” she said.

PPIM chief Datuk Nadzim Johan said that he would refer the case to the police and Bank Negara.

• Found in translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.