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By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, July 31: Three men believed to be local accomplices of a foreign fraud syndicate were sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment each for committing mischief by burning a victim’s house.
Alexander Kimpin, Nelson Ajau, and Then Shaw Nam pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 436 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, before Sessions Court Judge Iris Awen Jon.
The judge handed down a 12-year prison sentence to each of them, effective from July 31, 2023.
Additionally, three other accused—Then Shaw Nam, Jee Eo Liang, and Lai Shin Yung—were charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation in relation to the case. They were sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment each by the same judge after they pleaded guilty.
The incident took place at Taman Hill View, Kota Samarahan, where the three men, Alexander, Nelson, and Then, acted with the common intention to commit mischief by setting fire to a building ordinarily used for human dwelling owned by Liu Siew Mui on July 7, 2023, at approximately 2:05am.
During a press conference on July 17, Milton Foo, who is the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) public complaints bureau chief, revealed that the arson victim, a 28-year-old man engaged in sales in Singapore, fell victim to foreign fraud syndicates.
As a result of the fraud, the victim’s ancestral home was set on fire, impacting not only his property but also those of his neighbours. The perpetrators even threatened to burn down his brother and mother’s furniture shop in Kuching and targeted the cars and offices of neighboring families, demanding that the victim be handed over.
The incident began when the victim showed interest acquiring a private loan on Facebook on February 16. He provided his personal information, including details for his Singapore and local bank accounts. After communicating with the scammers, they demanded a handling fee of 10 per cent and 2,000 Singapore dollars. Subsequently, the scammers continuously asked for payments under various pretexts. Within just three days, the victim made nine consecutive transfers, totaling 32,000 Singapore dollars to the scammers.
Only after receiving advice from colleagues did he realise that he had fallen for a scam, prompting him to lodge a police report.
However, the fraud syndicate continued to harass him and sent a false message accusing him of not repaying the loan. Confused, he checked his bank account and found an additional 300 Singapore dollars deposited, which he promptly handed over to the police. The scammers then demanded 30,000 Singapore dollars from him.
Since then, the victim and his family have been bombarded with phone calls and text messages continuously from unknown and out-of-state numbers.
On July 7, between 2:30am and 3am, the victim’s ancestral home in Samarahan was set on fire. No one was inside at the time but the arson also affected neighboring property. The perpetrators recorded the scene and sent the video to the victim, taunting him with the message, “Are you enjoying yourself now?” — DayakDaily
