PENANG: Police have arrested an employee of a security company who claimed that he was given a spiked drink while on a Penang-bound ferry from Pulau Langkawi before being relieved of RM3.39mil in cash.
The 36-year-old man was arrested on Monday night.
He had boarded the ferry at 5.15pm after being given US$650,000 (RM2.47mil) and RM926,000 by his employer.
The cash was meant to be distributed to money changers on the island.
The man told police that he had befriended a dark-complexioned man who bought him a soft drink while on board the ferry at 6pm.
Ten minutes after having the drink, he claimed, he became unconscious.
The “victim” claimed that he woke up just as the ferry was about to berth at 7.30pm.
He said he was still feeling groggy from the after-effects of the drink and did not notice that the bag containing the cash was gone until he was about to leave the ferry.
He subsequently lodged a report at the Beach Street police station.
The Pulau Langkawi-based man was arrested because there were many “inconsistencies” in his story.
George Town commercial crime officer Insp Zamrus Zakaria obtained a seven-day remand order from a magistrate’s court yesterday afternoon.
The man is to be sent back to Pulau Langkawi today.
Kedah CID chief Asst Comm Abdul Jalal Mohamad Yunus, who confirmed the arrest, said security companies should not allow an individual to carry so much cash and the bearer should at least have a companion with him.
“The employer should also allow the staff to take a flight rather than make them take a ferry.
“There is less risk if the employee reaches the destination faster,” he said.
