MIRI – A woman in Sibu has claimed that she was cheated out of RM1.06 million by a man she befriended via social media who is apparently working as an engineer in London.
The woman, in her fifties, who works in a private company in Sibu lodged a police report against her alleged London-based Chinese boyfriend after realising she was duped, said Sarawak deputy police commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata.
The woman in her police report said she got to know the man via Facebook in the middle of last year.
After getting to know each other via Facebook, the woman said the man, allegedly based in London, communicated with her via WhatsApp.
The man then started asking her for money, saying that he needed financial help for a work project.
The woman said the man promised her he would come to visit her in September 2022.
The woman said in August last year, she transferred RM395,000 to him via several online bank payments.
“After that, she got a call from someone who claimed to be a Customs Department officer telling her that her ‘boyfriend’ had been arrested in Thailand for carrying excessive cash.
“The woman said she was instructed to pay RM225,000 from September to October last year to free her ‘boyfriend’ so he could come to visit her in Sarawak.
“The woman said she had later transferred another RM424,000 to her ‘boyfriend’ who asked for the money for travelling and other work-related expenses.
“The woman said that until now, the ‘boyfriend’ has failed to show up in Sarawak”. – The Vibes, August 1, 2023
