KUCHING, Dec 31: Dudong assemblyman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has been summoned by Sibu police to investigate the Macau Scam issue, which he brought up earlier.
On Dec 28, Tiong, who is also Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, had in a statement demanded answers on the investigation of Macau Scam cases from the Sibu Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID).
He said he had received a lot of negative feedback from the people regarding the Sibu police, particularly the CCID.
Among the complaints, he said, was a case similar to the Macau Scam in which victims were deceived into voluntarily surrendering their bank cards and personal identification numbers (PINs). Their bank accounts were then emptied and the money transferred to other unknown accounts.
Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP, said when the police report was made, the police did not respond immediately, citing excuses such as Bank Negara’s approval needed to investigate into victims’ accounts and other “astounding” excuses.
He believed that due to procrastination on the part of the police, the scammers’ bank accounts were closed before authorities could track them down.
To him, all these commercial cases could be investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).
Tiong claimed that he had requested the acting police chief (OCPD) of Sibu, Supt Collin Babat, to investigate this matter in detail.
The police should investigate the matter and not let “lengthy process hampers their work” as it would not do any good and serve no one, said Tiong.
He called out Minister of Home Affairs Dato Seri Hamzah Zainudin to raise the issue in Parliament and amend the laws if needed, instead of letting the red tape continue to exist and obstruct the police from taking necessary action. ― DayakDaily
