Found in Translation logo 2014
Compiled by ALLISON LAI, SIMON KHOO and R. ARAVINTHAN
A CYBER syndicate based in Indonesia has been cheating local men who dream of having a relationship with actresses from the neighbouring country, reported Harian Metro.
Sources told the paper that the syndicate, which has been active for two months, operated like groups in Africa and the Philippines.
The difference was that its members used Bahasa Indonesia and pretended to be “cewek (attractive young women)” or university students in Bandung.
“They use false identities to get to know Malaysian men via social sites such as Facebook, Tagged and WeChat.
“Pictures of them in various poses will be sent to capture the hearts of their victims in a long-distance relationship,” said the sources.
The syndicate members would also claim they were part-time actresses and had worked in popular dramas.
Later, the victims would be fed with tales of the women having financial difficulties in paying course fees, falling sick or family problems which needed urgent cash.
The gullible ones would bank in the money into their accounts.
So far, police said 10 men have fallen for the scam, involving a sum of RM50,000.
The daily also interviewed two victims who shared their experience of being duped in the love scam.
> The daily also reported that a man was attacked and slashed in the wrist after he refused to return a cellphone he had borrowed.
The assailant, a Myanmar national, had went looking for the man at his house in Taman Cheras Jaya, Balakong, to demand the return of his cellphone.
A source said they were good friends and the victim had often borrowed money from the foreigner.
However, when the victim refused to give it back, the foreigner left and returned later with a knife.
A struggle ensued and the victim was slashed.
Passers-by caught the foreigner and handed him to police.
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.
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