Housewife loses more than RM87,000 in Macau Scam

SIBU: A housewife in a fishing village in Igan, Mukah Division near here, lost more than RM87,000, including her savings in Tabung Haji, after falling victim to a Macau scam syndicate.

Sibu District Acting Police chief Supt Dr Collin Babat said the woman, in her 50s, lodged a report with the Sibu Police Station yesterday after realising that she had been duped.

He said the victim received a phone call from a woman introducing herself as 'Mastura' on Nov 30 last year and who claimed that the housewife's name had been used in insurance claims amounting to RM76,800 within three months.

The woman then instructed the victim to contact a police sergeant at the Pudu Police Station in Kuala Lumpur purportedly to avoid being issued with an arrest warrant and her bank account from being frozen.

Collin said the victim was then told to open an account at a bank in Sibu, hand over her bank account and Tabung Haji account information and make five cash transactions totalling RM61,000 from Dec 13 to Jan 4.

"The victim was then contacted by another woman, who introduced herself as 'Aisyah Abdullah', who claimed that she was replacing 'Mastura' who has been transferred elsewhere," Collin said.

He said the housewife became suspicious and, upon checking, found that her bank account (RM61,000) and Tabung Haji account (RM26,138) had been emptied.

-- BERNAMA