KUANTAN: A teacher was cheated of RM60,781 of her savings after she paid in advance for a holiday package to Japan to a WhatsApp group representative of a cheap travel package.
Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Supt Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the 36-year-old woman claimed that she had to pay for her friends in advance because she did not want to disappoint their excitement to visit the Land of the Rising Sun.
He added that the victim dealt with a WhatsApp group representative on Jan 1, 2018, for a five-day and four nights holiday package from Dec 23, 2018, and had paid 11 installment payments into the suspect’s account.
“The suspect later called the victim in early December to inform that the holiday had to be postponed to Jan 7, 2019. The victim and her friends left to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) late afternoon on Jan 6.
“However, when they wanted to check-in for their flight at the counter, they were informed that their flight booking number did not exist, The unhappy victim also found the hotels, supposedly booked by the suspect, did not exist,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Mohd Wazir said the victim did not want to disappoint her friends and claimed to have used her own savings to continue the holiday with the intention of reclaiming the payment from the suspect.
“The suspect, however, was reluctant to take responsibility and gave all kinds of excuses whenever asked to return the money,” he said.
He added the teacher lodged a police report after she lost contact with the suspect who blocked her phone number and Facebook. – Bernama
