SIBU: A teenage boy here was suspected to be involved in a scam which deceived a woman from Peninsular Malaysia into parting with more than RM259,000.
The boy (seated) at the police station.
The police picked up the boy at his house in Oya Road on Thursday following a report lodged by the woman at Gombak last week.
They brought the boy to the Peninsula yesterday afternoon after getting an order to have him placed under a four-day remand.
Upon his arrest, police found with him several savings account books.
The boy told police that a man from Kuching told him to open several bank accounts and transfered the money he received from victims to him.
He said he would be given commission for handling those transactions.
In the incident last week, the woman received a telephone call from a person who claimed to be an officer of Bank Negara, telling her she had a huge outstanding credit card loan.
The caller told her to settle the amount fast to prevent Bank Negara from freezing her bank account in other banks.
The victim panicked and deposited the money with different amounts to several bank accounts as instructed by the caller.
Of the amount she paid, RM70,000 was deposited into the bank account of the boy suspect.
When the boy tried to withdraw the money on Monday, the bank stopped him to do so after the bank found the transaction suspicious following a report lodged by the victim.
The boy left the bank when he failed to get the money.
After the police had identified the boy, they stormed into his house and arrested him.
Police meanwhile arrested a man believed to be one of the masterminds of the cheating case behind a bank here at 4pm yesterday.