KUALA LUMPUR: About two dozen more dissatisfied customers have come forward after a press conference highlighted allegations that an influencer misled buyers with false claims about her jewellery.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, who organised the press conference today at Wisma MCA, said 23 additional individuals had stepped forward following Thursday's (Nov 6) press conference on the issue.
"They have accumulated losses of around RM156,372. So that makes the total losses around RM1.3mil now," he said.
Responding to the influencer's assertion in a Chinese daily news article that yesterday's press conference had misrepresented the facts, lawyer Esther Hor, who represents the group of victims, stated the main issue was the definition used when the influencer sold the diamonds.
"Real diamonds can mean many things. But we all know that lab grown diamonds have no commercial value when compared to natural ones.
"When it comes to her claims that she did not say the make-up she sold had no chemicals, we have her previous Instagram stories that say otherwise," she said.
She added that customers had been misled by "vague" terminology and this matter could have been avoided if the seller had been upfront about the nature of the precious stones used.
When asked about further action, Esther said a class action lawsuit was possible.
On Thursday, Chong held a press conference where he said more than 30 victims had lost around RM1mil since 2023 after being misled by the influencer.
The group claims that items bought, including good luck trinkets and jewellery, were purposely sold using vague terms to convince buyers they were made with natural diamonds.
