SERDANG: A man was mugged after being duped by robbers via a gay dating app.
Serdang OCPD Asst Comm AA Anbalagan said the victim, a 41-year-old hairstylist, had gotten to know the suspect via the app and had agreed to meet him at a house in Seri Kembangan.
"On March 16, the victim then went to the house. After using the bathroom the victim was then approached by two unknown men.
"Together with the main suspect, the three then tied up the victim before instructing him to follow their orders. One of the trio then hit the suspect with a piece of wood while another took the victim's phone to transfer RM67,000 into one of the suspect's bank accounts," he said in a statement on Wednesday (March 19).
The victim was then threatened to not report the robbery to the police before being let go.
Acting on information gathered, the police then made five arrests, including the owner of the bank account used to receive the stolen money.
All suspects were found to be students from higher education facilities, aged between 18 and 22 years old.
"Four of the suspects are still under remand until March 21 while the fifth has been granted police bail.
"Investigations also showed that similar incidents linked to the group had occurred three other times using the same modus operandi. Of those, two has yet to be reported to the police," he said.
The group would target gay victims via social media before meeting them at a set location.
They will then tie the victims up before forcing them to transfer money into a set bank account.
All were also threatened to not report the matter to the authorities before being released.
"The police advise all to always be on guard to not fall victim and urge the victims to come forward to lodge reports regarding the incidents," he said.
