Pensioner loses RM418,000 to Macau scam syndicate

KOTA BARU: A government pensioner, in her sixties, was cheated out of RM418,000 by three men believed to be part of a Macau scam syndicate recently.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat said the woman received a phone call in July from a man who claimed to be from an insurance company.

"The victim was at her home in Bachok when she received the call. The man told her that her RM48,000 insurance claims had been approved and paid to the victim's local bank account.

"When the victim denied she had made such claims, the call was transferred to another man who claimed to be a policeman.

"The policeman asked the victim to provide her account details including her bank account number," he said in a statement.

Shafien said her call was later passed to another 'senior police officer' who introduced himself as 'Tuan Chong' who told the woman she was involved in money laundering worth RM2.18 million.

"Out of fear of being arrested, the victim followed the instructions of the officer including transferring all her money into a bank account which she opened in Kota Baru.

"When the woman checked her bank account on Monday (Aug 30), she realised that all her money totaling about RM418,000 had been transferred to an unknown account," he said in a statement.

Shafien said the victim then lodged a police report the same day.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine and whipping on conviction.