TELUK INTAN: A lawyer ended up losing RM1.76mil in a love scam after getting to know a foreign man through WhatsApp in July.
“According to the woman, the suspect claimed to be a marine geologist and alleged that his cash was stolen during a robbery while he was in Malaysia for an underwater tank construction project off the coast of Terengganu,” said Perak police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris.
The 58-year-old woman lodged a police report on Monday after realising she had been deceived.
“The man claimed he was besieged with ‘problems’ and asked the victim for financial assistance,” he told a press conference following an engagement session on scam-related crimes and current crime trends here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Azizi said the victim subsequently made multiple bank transfers to several different accounts, with the total reaching RM1,757,490.
“The suspect promised to return the money, but to this day, the victim has not received any repayment,” he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Separately, Azizi said Hilir Perak district recorded RM2mil in losses due to online fraud during the first seven months of this year.
Meanwhile, a Cameroonian man has been charged in the Sessions Court here with two counts of possessing counterfeit money and equipment to cut and wrap the fake notes.
Ammanuel Linwe Gwei, 51, pleaded not guilty.
For the first charge, he was accused of possessing nine bundles of fake RM100 notes with the intention of using the money as genuine at a convenience store in Brickfields here at 5pm on Aug 15.
The communication device seller was also charged with possessing 4,770 pieces of fake RM100 notes, 152 pieces of US dollar banknotes and equipment to cut and wrap the money at a residence in Cheras here at 7.30pm on the same date, reported Bernama.Both charges are under Section 489(C) of the Penal Code (for possession of counterfeit currency) which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutor Raihanah Abd Razak did not offer bail because the accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, did not have any valid travel documents.
Judge Hamidah Mohamed Deril did not offer bail and fixed Oct 15 for next mention of the case.
