Suspicious individuals: Comm Ramli showing the suspects from the raids on three call centres during a press conference at CCID headquaters in Kuala Lumpur. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Property owners can no longer collect a big, fat deposit and rent in advance, and then sit back and enjoy the money without bothering about their property.
They will now be held responsible for any crime committed at their premises, say police.
Joint management bodies (JMB) of high rise residences and security companies can also be charged in court should they fail to report any suspicious or criminal activity at property under their care.
“These people can no longer claim ignorance when crimes occur at these premises,” Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said.
“Some security companies, owners and JMBs know about criminal activities including the existence of scam call centres. But they feign ignorance.
“It is quite alarming that scam syndicates now prefer to set up call centres at condominium units, especially the luxury ones,” he told a press conference at CCID headquarters yesterday.
Comm Ramli said investigations into call centres will no longer be focused solely on criminals but also the owners, JMB and security companies.
“We will propose that all three parties be charged under Section 120(B) of the Penal Code for criminal conspiracy.”
Scam syndicates often pay rent for up to a year in advance or even buy residential units in cash, he said.
“Owners are just happy to get such a big payment, but they must also be responsible for all activity at their premises or buildings,” he said.
He was commenting on the matter following recent raids at three condominiums here which had been used as scam calls centres.
“I urge all parties, especially owners of premises, to conduct KYC (know your customer) before allowing anyone to rent or buy such premises.
“It is their owners’ responsibility to ensure no criminal activity occurs at these premises,” he said.
On the raids, Comm Ramli said 11 Chinese nationals were detained at the three condominiums along Jalan Tun Razak on Feb 26.
“In the first case, three men and a woman were detained while various items, including laptops and mobile phones, were seized.
“The syndicate had a lucky draw scheme targeting Chinese nationals and using QR codes. They had been operating for about two months,” he said.
In the second raid, two men aged 31 and 40 were detained for running a scam targeting online gamers, Comm Ramli said.
“They targeted victims from China and Singapore and used Telegram to advertise their bogus online games.
“Victims had to make payments in US dollars before they could register. However, they could not access the games after payments were made,” he said.
In the third raid, five men aged between 33 and 35 were held.
One of them was the supervisor while the four others were customer service officers.
Investigations showed the syndicate was running an investment scam, targeting Chinese nationals using the “mycaifuhao.eastmoney.com” platform, he said.
