KUCHING: The identity of a man, who along with two other individuals who are said to have cheated an elderly housewife of RM22,000 by pretending to be Welfare Department officials, has been identified.
The discovery was made after the victim, a 64-year-old resident of Kampung Sikog at Jalan Mambong-Sarig near Kota Padawan here, found the man’s MyKad inside her handbag.
According to the document, the man is 45 years old. It is unclear if the man had dropped his MyKad accidentally or intentionally. According to the elderly victim, the three ‘Welfare officers’ went to see her at her farm around 11am on Wednesday.
“They told me that they were able to help me attain the RM550 monthly assistance from the department. They later took me to ASNB (Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd) branch at Jalan Satok where I withdrew RM22,000 from my ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera) account. After that, I was taken to a commercial bank in Kota Padawan,” she told police at the Kota Padawan station.
The complainant said one of the ‘officers’ – comprising two men and a woman – told her to hand over the money as he went to deposit it into another account.
“I waited inside the car. When he returned, he told me that they needed to get her son for verification purposes. We went back to the village but after they dropped me at my son’s house, they said they had to rush to the neighbouring Kampung Mamping to send some items for the villagers there, in conjunction with a community welfare programme.
“I waited and waited, but they never returned. Sensing something was amiss, I checked my handbag and there, I saw the MyKad which I believe belonged to one of them.
“I immediately lodge a police report at Kota Padawan station,” she said. Police are on the hunt for the three ‘officers’ and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.