Four men and four women were detained yesterday in connection with the illegal sale of a datukship honorific title to a veteran lawyer.

One of the suspects is a 36-year-old woman who is suspected to be the mastermind behind the datukship scam.

The suspects, aged between 30 and 40 were picked up in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak and Kelantan.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the police received a report from a 63-year-old lawyer who claimed he was tricked into paying RM604,000 as donation to a foundation as requirement to obtain the datukship," he said when contacted by Bernama
recently.

He said, according to the lawyer, one of the four female suspects had made an offer to him after introducing herself as the assistant to the Raja Permaisuri Agong on Nov 18, last year in Sibu, Sarawak.

Acryl Sani said the victim realised he had been conned after Istana Negara officials informed him on Aug 31 this year that he had been fleeced of the money by a syndicate.

He said the police seized RM1,139 cash, three smart phones, bank cards and account books, two files containing records and a log-book containing the names of datuks, 10 picture albums, and a Toyota Vellfire.

He said the eight suspects were remanded for four days until next Monday to facilitate investigations into cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property under Section 420 of the Penal Code.- BERNAMA