Tuesday November 23, 2010
Housewife conned of RM245k
KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife’s greed caused her to lose RM244,708 of her savings to a “sifu” who promised her at least RM1mil in prize-winning four-digit numbers. MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau chief Datuk Michael Chong said the woman, who only wanted to be known as Yeoh, 57, had received a brochure offering to change her luck. “The brochure had a name and the telephone number of a feng shui ‘sifu’ as well as the testimonies of those who had apparently benefited from his predictions.
“The sifu promised to give four-digit numbers that would change her luck and make her reap five times the sum of money she invested,” he told reporters here yesterday. He said Yeoh then contacted the “sifu”, who requested her to bank in RM244,708 into five bank accounts to buy religious items for prayers. Chong said Yeoh banked in all her savings on Oct 20 and had even intended to borrow more money from her daughter.
He said the daughter, however, realised that her mother had been cheated and lodged a police report on Oct 27. He added that according to statistics, 19 people, mostly housewives and businessmen, had been victims of similar fraud involving about RM930,000 since 2007. “I urge the public who come across suspicious individuals to quickly lodge a police report,” Chong said. — Bernama
