SRI AMAN: An elderly woman from Kampung Bakong here lost RM2,000 after she was deceived by three individuals impersonating officers of the Welfare Department.
The incident happened at 10.30am on Friday after the 60-year-old withdrew money from a bank.
According to an officer from the Sri Aman district police headquarters (IPD) Commercial Crime Investigation Department, the case was not classified as ‘pukau’ (being hypnotised).
“It was a fraud because these crooks impersonated welfare officers,” he said when contacted yesterday.
“The modus operandi is similar to previous cases where victims were cheated by fake welfare officers who claimed to be able to speed up government’s application process,” he said.
He said according to the victim, she was initially taken to an old abandoned house in Harmony Park by the suspects, who said that she had to be photographed in the house to look poor.
“In order to take the pictures, the victim was asked to remove and leave all her valuables in the car. However, once the victim exited, the conmen sped off.
“The victim, who found out that she had been tricked, eventually sought help from the villagers and from there to the Sri Aman police station. The police report was made at 11.48am,” he said.
In her report, the victim said one of the three suspects was a woman.
The victim, however, could not remember the colour of the car used by the trio.
Police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years with or without fine if convicted.
The police are warning the general public not to easily trust any unidentified person.
For any type of government assistance, contact the office directly without relying on strangers.
