MELAKA: Scammers are attempting to "hijack" a fund-raising effort by volunteer S. Thiruchelvam (pic), to help a cancer-stricken lawyer from Merlimau here.
Thiruchelvam said he has been receiving calls from fraudsters claiming to be medical practitioners treating the 28-year-old lawyer and demanding that he deposit payments to ensure uninterrupted healthcare for the patient.
He said the scam calls started pouring in after he decided to share the plight of G. Buvaneswary, who is diagnosed with fourth stage breast cancer, on Sunday (Nov 29). She is currently being treated at a private hospital in Ayer Keroh.
"I will lodge a police report Wednesday (Dec 2) and will also inform the hospital's management as I have the details of the callers who claimed to be doctors from the private hospital," he said.
Thiruchelvam, who is from Ipoh, Perak, said he decided to help Buvaneswary as she needed additional funds for her treatment.
He also included his mobile number and details of Buvaneswary's father in the message.
Thiruchelvam added that his daughter had pursued law studies at the same university as Buvaneswary and he felt it was right for to do his part to help.
"I obtained permission from Buvaneswary's father to circulate the message to seek funds from my contacts," he said, adding that the post was then shared to many others by various individuals.
Thiruchelvam said he received dozens of calls from Malaysia and Singapore as well as one from Canada, all wanting to help Buvaneswary.
"I only posted the message to my group at first and on Monday (Nov 30), my phone was flooded with calls and messages from those who wanted to help Buvaneswary," he added.
Meanwhile, Buvaneswary's father, S. Gunusegran, 64, said his daughter is confident of surviving breast cancer.
He said Buvaneswary is his only daughter and he wanted her to get the best treatment.
"At first, I thought I could afford the cost of the treatment but her condition has now reached a critical stage and the hospitalisation bill had ballooned," he said.
Gunusegran said he has exhausted all his savings paying for his daughter's treatment.
"I know my daughter would recuperate as she is a resilient person," he said.
When contacted, the private hospital confirmed Buvaneswary is under the care of a consultant oncologist there and the names given by the scammers to Thiruchelvam were not part of the hospital's medical team.
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