KUANTAN – As aid is rushed to those affected by the recent floods, police detained a woman attempting to hoodwink authorities by claiming to be a flood victim.
Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the 33-year-old suspect had allegedly made a flood relief application and submitted it to an NGO at a temporary flood relief centre in Temerloh on December 29.
“The suspect claimed to be a single mother of three and had yet to receive any assistance, which prompted the NGO to provide financial contributions, food supplies, toto, blankets, pillows and electrical appliances such as fan, blender and rice cooker worth RM700.
“However, the NGO subsequently received complaints from the public that the woman was not a flood victim as the home address used in the application was not inhabited by the suspect,” he said in a statement here today.
Wazir said that a member of the NGO made his own checks and found that the woman had also applied for assistance from other NGOs and volunteers, prompting the complainant to lodge a police report.
Apart from checks with the village head to confirm that the woman is not a flood victim, Wazir said preliminary police investigations also found that the address used by the suspect and the house where she allegedly stays was unoccupied.
These investigations, he added, were conducted in accordance with Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years, whipping as well as a fine, if convicted. – Bernama, January 4, 2022
