Sibu Woman Loses RM370,500 To A "London Engineer" Who Promised To Marry Her
She had met the conman on Tantan, a popular Chinese social dating app.
By Jia Vern Tham — 19 Mar 2019, 12:38 PM
A 33-year-old woman from Sibu, Sarawak lodged a police report yesterday, 18 March, after losing RM370,500 in a 'love scam'
Malay Mail reported that the woman, who is a government servant, was scammed by a man whom she met through Tantan, a Chinese social dating app.
The pair had met on the app sometime in August 2018.
The man, who claimed to be an engineer from London, had promised to marry the victim
According to The Borneo Post, the victim revealed that she was lured into a building construction investment in London, on top of paying for medical bills incurred by the man's allegedly ailing mother.
The sum of money was sent through various transactions between August 2018 and January this year.
The victim eventually found out about the scam after a Google search revealed that the photograph she had of the man was not genuine.
Members of the public have since been cautioned by the Sarawak police to be cautious on the Internet
"We have consistently and constantly reminded the public to be cautious regarding Internet acquaintances, especially people they have never met," head of Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani said, according to The Borneo Post.
"Do not just hand over money to strangers for whatever reasons," he added.
Malay Mail reported Mustafa as saying that the suspect will be brought to court with enough evidence.
Members of the public have also been advised to check with the police and banking institutions if they had doubts about their Internet acquaintances.