JEMPOL: A 61-year-old man lost RM44,500 after he was blackmailed by an unidentified woman, who claimed to be from Indonesia, and threatened to distribute a clip of him exposing his private parts.
Jempol district police chief Superintendent Hoo Chang Hook said the senior citizen got to know the woman through the Facebook Messenger app while he was at home on May 29.
Five days later, the victim, a government retiree, received a video call from the woman while he was driving.
"The victim complied, removed his pants, and exposed his private parts to the suspect during the video call, which lasted for about one minute," Hoo said.
The victim's nightmare started when he received a one-minute recording showing his face and private parts shortly after the video call with the suspect ended.
The victim immediately deleted the clip out of fear and to prevent it from being seen by others.
On June 4, the victim received the same clip again and was threatened to pay 15 million Rupiah (RM45,000) to have it permanently deleted.
The victim tried to persuade and negotiate the matter before the suspect asked for RM2,000. Once the payment was made, the suspect stopped contacting the victim.
The victim continued to receive threats from the suspect to distribute the nude clip from June 5 until June 7.
"The victim then made five transactions to three different bank accounts, totaling RM42,500, via money transfers at two locations in Bahau.
"The victim, however, received another threat, demanding RM58,500 to put an end to the issue. The victim did not comply as he no longer had any money," Hoo said.
The victim later lodged a report at the Bandar Seri Jempol police station, and the case is being investigated under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion.