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By Chris Bishop
Translated by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 18: Beware of scammers who would even go to the length of holding meetings at a house of worship to convince victims.
Jagil Edu, 57, was recently scammed of her hard-earned RM32,000, which she took from her Employees’ Provident Fund, to buy a non-existent house.
The whole incident became her lifelong regret, especially when it was made worse by the fact that she was responsible for introducing her three friends to the scammers, leading to them falling victim to the same scam.
The house investment scam started in 2020 when she met up with an agent she described as “very kind and sincere”, resulting in her lowering her guard.
“Not to mention the meeting took place in a church, in a holy place where everything is fine.
“The agent suggested that I buy a house in Dudong, Sibu. At first, I was not interested, but the agent said he also bought it. Because of that, I believed and agreed to buy,” said Jagil when met in Kuching today.
She further pointed out that the house-buying process went in accordance with proper procedure where all documents were signed involving a lawyer, and the signing took place in the developer’s office in Sibu.
“I made two payments in 2020 amounting to RM32,000. It was EPF money that I took out when I was 50 years old.
“After two years of not seeing the house materialise, I was told it was due to a Movement Control Order following the Covid-19 outbreak, and I accepted it.
“But until now, the house does not exist, and the company failed to be contacted. Then I realised that I had become a victim of fraud,” said a traumatised Jagil, who hails from Katibas.
Jagil’s story caught the attention of the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general, Dato Hishamuddin Hashim, who met with Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri to discuss the case.
During the meeting at the Sarawak Police Headquarters at Jalan Badruddin, Mohd Azman assured that a detailed investigation would be launched to resolve the case. — DayakDaily
