JOHOR BARU: He used to work in the Johor land office and knows all the inner dealings.
It was then discovered that falsified documents were used to lease state land to a private company.
A huge piece of land in Batu Pahat was cleared for agriculture.
The man, in his 40s, was arrested during a raid several days ago, with several documents seized after a state government official lodged a police report.
Police are investigating whether the man, who is now with another government agency, had falsified documents for other pieces of state land.
“We are also checking how much he was paid to produce these false documents, including minutes of meetings, which are confidential,” a police officer said.
He said police would also contact the company’s owners to assist in the investigation, adding that the company was in the process of collaborating with other companies to carry out the business, which would require millions in investments.
In an unrelated case, the officer said a housewife in her 50s, not only emptied her EPF and bank savings but also pawned all her jewellery after she was scammed.
He said the housewife’s nightmare started when she got a call, claiming that she was involved in an insurance fraud and money laundering activities, totalling RM2.5mil in May.
“The woman panicked and denied the allegations but the scammers started transferring the call from one agency to another.
“This included those impersonating as a policeman, insurance agent, deputy public prosecutor and even an official from Bank Negara,” the officer said, adding that the scammers warned the woman not to tell anyone, including her family.
He said the woman was told to transfer the money to almost 20 bank accounts to prevent her personal account from being frozen.
The officer said some of the accounts were linked to more than a dozen police reports.
He said the woman only realised she was scammed when the scammers continued to press for more money.
He said the woman lodged a report and the police were investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The officer advised the public to be cautious when making large transfers to various accounts online.
He said they should use the Semak Mule mobile app or go to https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my to check whether any of the bank accounts or phone numbers concerned were linked with suspicious activities.
