Worst first date: Beaten and robbed by four men who posed as a woman online

Kota Kinabalu City police chief Asst Comm Habibi Manjinji showing the handphone and currencies recovered from four suspects who assaulted and robbed a 55-year-old who thought he was meeting a woman he met via WeChat.

KOTA KINABALU: A 55-year-old man turned up for a quick date with a woman he had just chatted up on the messaging app WeChat, but it turned out to be the worst first date ever.

Instead, he was bashed up and robbed by four men who had “posed” as the woman online to set him up for a one-to-one meeting near a mall here.

The victim lost about RM1,000 in cash, including US and South Korean currency, and a mobile phone in the assault and robbery.

Kota Kinabalu City police chief Asst Comm Habibi Manjinji said on Wednesday (Jan 23) that police arrested four men in connection with the case that occurred at around 3am on Jan 15.

The victim suffered bodily hurt after the assault but was not seriously injured.

He had come across the “woman’s” profile on WeChat and they agreed to meet near the mall.

“When he turned up at the location, he was met by four men who confronted him and started beating him up,” ACP Habibi said.

He said police managed to track down one of the suspects who led them to the three remaining suspects.

Police also recovered all the victim’s stolen items within 24 hours of the incident.

ACP Habibi added that the suspects, aged between 24 and 26, are believed to have been involved in five similar incidents.