Man loses RM198,800 savings to ‘monk’, followers

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Lee showing the flyer that led him to eventually part with his RM198,800 savings to a ‘monk’ and his followers.

LAHAD DATU: A man in his 50’s never thought that he would end up losing nearly RM200,000 in a four-digit (4D) lottery scam.

The victim, who only wanted to be identified as Lee from West Malaysia, lost RM198,800 in six transactions to several individuals claiming to be a monk and his followers from Thailand, whom he knew from a phone number in a flyer.

Lee said he received the flyer at his house last August with a photo of the monk who could assist people with financial problems by giving them 4D numbers.

“I called up the hand phone number provided on the flyer and they convinced me that the monk could help me. They asked me for my personal details for them to study my fate, and the monk said I had a good fate.

“After a few days, I received a paper with a 4D number on it, but they did not ask me to buy the number or told me that the number would win the lottery prize,” he said, adding that the individual told him to check the 4D result the next day.

Lee said he realized that the number given had won the lottery prize and he was informed by the individual that a man known as Datuk Wee had bought the 4D ticket worth RM4,000 for him and would claim the prize on behalf of him.

The victim’s happiness was short lived when he was told that he had to pay for the ticket money before he could claim his money. The victim transferred RM4,000 to a bank account given, and waited for his money.

However, the individual called him the next day and told him that they needed RM23,000 for ritual ceremony as Datuk Wee was involved in an accident when he went to claim the victim’s prize.

The victim then transferred the money without doubting them.

“After a few days, they kept calling me and demanded that I transfer RM18,000 for cheque transaction fees, RM40,000 to pay for the money transfer from Thailand to Malaysia, another RM90,800 for money transfer process, and RM23,000 for court fees as the money was brought to Malaysia.

“After the last transaction of RM23,000 for the court fees, they asked me to transfer another RM23,000 as the court fees had been stolen. I started to feel weird as I have to be responsible for the money,” he said.

Lee said he called up the individuals and asked for an explanation, but was ignored, and realized that he had been deceived. He immediately lodged a police report at a police station in West Malaysia. The case was then referred to Tawau as the transactions were made through a Tawau bank.

Lee said the report was lodged in October but to date he had not been informed of effort to investigate the case.

“I was disappointed as the officer-in-charge ignored me. I called her several times but she kept giving me excuses and refused to meet me until today,” he claimed.

“I hope the police will investigate this matter and arrest the culprits as I do not want any member of the public to become victims of this syndicate,” he added when met yesterday.

Lee also expressed hope that members of the public would take this as a lesson and not to easily believe in such things.