KUALA LUMPUR: The managing director of a local marine maintenance company claims he has lost more than RM1.3mil after over a vessel-cleaning contract, which turned out to be a scam.
S. Nagamani, 50, claimed he was offered a contract for a "deep sea cleaning services" project involving 11 vessels in the waters of Melaka and Thailand by an international company in 2023, before he offered the project to another firm as a subcontract.
He claimed the company asked him to make an advance payment to the subcontractor but he was never reimbursed for it.
Nagamani said he only learnt about the fraud after conducting an independent check, which found that the barge numbers of the vessels did not exist in the international system.
"The company also disappeared and could not be contacted. I have lodged four police reports in Seremban, Ipoh and Teluk Intan over this case but it has been classified as no further action by authorities due to insufficient evidence," he said at a press conference here on Thursday (Feb 26).
Adding to his predicament, Nagamani said he is now facing court action after the subcontractor demanded full payment and his company's account had been frozen.
Nagamani's plight drew the attention of the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO), which is now appealing to the Perak deputy public prosecutor's office to order the police to reopen investigations.
Its secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said they had sent a letter to the Perak state legal adviser's office to appeal for a thorough investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
"This issue not only involves major losses to the victim, but also touches on the integrity of commercial transactions and confidence in the country's criminal justice system.
"MHO will stand with victims to ensure their voices are heard," he said at a press conference at the MHO headquarters here.
Hishamuddin also questioned the civil suit filed by the subcontractor against the victim for cleaning works allegedly completed, despite official records proving the vessels did not exist and had never entered the waters concerned. – Bernama
