Doctor loses RM20,168 to Macau Scam

GEORGE TOWN: A doctor at a private clinic has claimed to have lost RM20,168 last Sunday after being duped by a Macau Scam syndicate which claimed that the victim had business tax arrears.

Southwest district police chief, Supt A.A. Anbalagan said the 27-year-old doctor at the clinic in Persiaran Bayan Indah in Bayan Baru, near here, claimed to have received a phone call from someone who introduced himself as 'Datuk Ridzuan' from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), Kelantan branch on Oct 24 alleging the victim had business tax arrears for 18 months.

"The victim denied it before the call was supposedly transferred to the Kelantan police contingent headquarters and spoke to a man claiming to be a police officer who informed that the doctor had been involved in drug smuggling and money laundering.

"The victim was also informed that a public prosecutor would contact him to help solve the case and told the doctor to cooperate," he said here today.

Anbalagan said one hour later, the victim received a total of 12 transaction authorisation codes (TACs) from the bank saying it should be sent to the suspect for the purpose of solving the case.

He said the victim only realised that he had been duped after checking with the bank yesterday and was surprised to find that RM20,168 was missing from his account before lodging a police report.

-- BERNAMA