KUANTAN: A doctor trainee’s decision to ‘settle’ his alleged money laundering case would be one he would regret for a long time as it turned out to be another con trick by a Macau Scam syndicate.
Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Superintendent Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said in the Oct 26 incident, the 28-year-old male victim received a call from a person who introduced himself as an officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“The suspect claimed that the victim was involved with a money laundering case involving RM1 million, linking the latter to a criminal named Tan Wai Ping.
“When the victim denied the allegation, the call was transferred to Inspector Wong and later Inspector Kamarul.
“The victim was told that he was also involved in drugs before the call was transferred to one Encik Lim, who introduced himself as an auditor from AMLA (the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Prevention Unit).
“He was asked to transfer money to a bank account number given by the suspect,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Wazir said the victim then transferred RM9,900 to the account through an automated teller machine (ATM) and as instructed, revealed his online banking password to Encik Lim.
“The suspect then instructed the victim to transfer another RM2,500 to the same account and told the latter that it would be channeled to Bank Negara.
“The victim only realised he had been duped after making the transaction and lodged a report at the Kuantan district police headquarters on Monday,” he said.
In a separate case, a housewife in Triang, Bera was made RM16,000 poorer after being duped by a Macau Scam syndicate impersonating police officers who claimed that she was involved in money laundering and drug cases.
Mohd Wazir said the 61-year-old victim received a call from a man who introduced himself as Kamal Ali from Public Bank Kuala Lumpur on Nov 1.
He said the suspect claimed that the woman had applied for a RM70,000 bank loan and had three months in arrears on her payments totaling RM3,885.
“The suspect urged the victim to lodge an emergency report with Seremban IPD (district police headquarters) and transferred the call to one Sergeant Junaidi.
“The call was then transferred to an Inspector Kamarul who instructed the victim to transfer RM16,000 to a bank account number,” he said.
He said the victim later told her family members about the incident who took her to Bera district police headquarters to lodge a report.
He said both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code which carries maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail, whipping and a fine.