Civil servant loses almost half a million ringgit to Macau scam

KANGAR: In panic and for fear of being arrested for alleged involvement in money laundering, a civil servant lost almost half a million ringgit of her savings to a Macau scam syndicate.

Arau Police chief Supt Ahmad Mohsin Md Rodi said the 50-year-old woman made 10 payments totalling RM429,000 to the syndicate after being duped that she would be arrested and charged in court for money laundering.

"She claimed to have received a phone call purportedly from an officer of Pos Malaysia Berhad and was told that there was a parcel containing illegal items, namely an identity card and five bank cards on her name, to be sent to Sabah," he said in a statement today.

He said the caller then asked the woman to lodge a police report and the call was immediately connected to a "Sabah Police station".

"Once connected, the victim was told that her name and identity card number were found to have been listed for involvement in a money laundering case and she was asked to make several payments to settle the case," he said.

Ahmad Mohsin said the police had opened an investigation paper on the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He also advised the public to be wary of calls from any unknown number to avoid falling victim to such scam syndicates.

-- BERNAMA