BINTULU: An illegal forex trader is believed to have fleeced millions of ringgit out of unsuspecting Chinese nationals working in the state, forcing them to now turn to the police for help.
Their plight was brought to the public’s attention by Bintulu MP Datuk Sri Tiong King Sing who said a police report was lodged after their pleas to the trader fell on deaf ears.
According to him, dozens of Chinese workers at the Samalaju Industrial Park here had used the services of the middleman trader introduced by a friend to convert their wages into Chinese yuan or renminbi at a better exchange rate and remit the cash to China.
“However, this middleman did not send the collection he received to a bank account in China for various reasons and did not oblige their request to return the money.
“To my knowledge, the amount involved has reached up to several million ringgit. The workers involved have lodged a police report even though the middleman had promised to repay the amount in two installments as nothing has happened so far,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Jan 22).
Tiong, who is the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, also reported the case to Bintulu Police Chief Supt Zulkifli Suhaili.
He urged the police to find the middleman and get more information on the case.
“I hope the people of Bintulu will stop this act of cheating and prevent similar cases from happening,” he said.
Tiong warned that those who deliberately violated the law would face the full force of the law in Sarawak.
“No one is allowed to engage in currency exchange business without a licence from the government,” he reminded.
