Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri
SIBU (Nov 8): A man in his 70s from Kanowit lost RM120,000 to three strangers who promised him a reward if he helped them claim the lottery prize money they had won.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the victim was approached by the three suspects at a parking lot near a hotel in Kanowit on Nov 7.
“The suspects – two women and one man – claimed that they had won a lottery ticket worth RM300,000.
“A female suspect then asked for the victim’s bank account number to deposit the prize money.
“The victim was promised that he would be given RM200,000 but was told to first hand over RM120,000, to which the victim agreed and accepted the offer,” Mohd Azman said in a statement today.
He said the suspects then took the victim to Sibu by car to claim the prize money.
They went to a number forecast outlet where the male suspect purportedly checked the winning ticket before they took the victim to two banks to withdraw RM119,000 from his savings accounts, he said.
“The victim handed over RM120,000 cash to one of the female suspects and was later sent back to Kanowit.
“The victim realised he was cheated after a few days when checking his account and found out no reward money was deposited into his account, thus prompting him to lodge a police report,” he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Mohd Azman advised members of the public to always be careful and not to fall easily to dubious offers from unknown individuals.
“Do not be greedy and fall for such an offer of unverified prize money. People should realise that nothing can be gained freely without hard effort.
“Inform your family members, friends or bank officers if you are unsure before withdrawing money at the bank.
“Do not hand over your money easily to unknown persons,” he said.
He also advised cybercrime victims to contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997.