KULAI: A 34-year-old company director only wanted his mother to be happy when he forked out more than RM140,000 for her to marry a charming stranger that she “met” through a social messaging app.
However, it turned out to be a love scam when the groom-to-be disappeared after receiving the funds, says Kulai OCPD Asst Comm Tan Seng Lee.
He said it started after the 66-year-old mother chatted with the stranger, whom she believed to be a man from China, through WhatsApp.
“On Thursday (March 27), the woman asked her son to transfer money to her beau, who promised to visit Malaysia to marry her.
“The son transferred a total of RM147,213 in one transaction into a local bank account on the same day as he was told that the man will pay him back once he arrives here to marry his mother,” ACP Tan said in a statement on Saturday (March 29).
Upon receiving the funds, the beau could no longer be contacted by the woman, he added.
That was when she felt that she had been scammed, and lodged a police report the following day.
“With so many scam tactics being used these days, our advice to the public is to be careful, especially when using social media to find love or a life partner,” ACP Tan said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a jail term of one to 10 years and caning upon conviction.
