By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 5: Police have advised senior citizens to be careful when withdrawing money from automated teller machines (ATMs) and, if needed, to be accompanied by family members to avoid being tricked by irresponsible individuals.
According to a media release, acting Kuching police chief Superintendent Merbin Lisa said this followed the arrest of a 41-year-old man who stole money from a 75-year-old man by pretending to assist him in withdrawing cash from an ATM.
“On April 2, the police received a report involving a senior citizen who wanted to withdraw money from one of the ATMs in a bank in Stutong here.
“On March 30 at around 8.30am, the victim was approached by the suspect who pretended to offer to assist him in withdrawing money from the ATM.
“After the victim inserted his ATM card and PIN code, the suspect withdrew RM1,500 and handed over RM300 to the victim before running off with the rest of the money,” he said.
Acting on information received, on April 4 at around 1.55pm, police arrested a local man, who is the suspect in the case, and seized some case items at Kenyalang Park here.
During an interrogation, the suspect admitted his involvement in the case, and further investigation revealed that the suspect has ten criminal records. A urine test that was conducted on the suspect tested negative for drugs.
“The suspect has been remanded for three days until April 8, and further investigations will be conducted to determine if the suspect is involved in other cases,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which provides a jail sentence of up to seven years, a fine, or both.
“If members of the public have information on individuals behaving suspiciously, they are urged to call IPD Kuching at 082-24444 or to go to the nearest police station.” — DayakDaily
