KUCHING, Oct 25: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen has questioned the Finance Ministry’s actions in response to 10 online fraud cases in which victims’ savings in the bank were transferred to third party accounts without their consent and knowledge.
Chong has also inquired about the progress of investigations conducted by the police and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) into these cases, which he initially reported to the Finance Ministry in January of this year.
“To this day, none of them (the victims) have received any compensation from the banks. Are all these cases and victims being disregarded?” he questioned during today’s parliamentary session in Kuala Lumpur while debating Budget 2024.
Chong, who is also Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman urged the Finance Ministry to furnish a comprehensive report detailing the actions taken by the police, BNM, the ministry, or any other government agency concerning the 10 cases.
He also pointed out that the federal government has proposed a review of current legislation to bolster protection for bank account holders.
“I am keen to learn the progress of this study and review and when we can expect the proposed amendments to be tabled in this House?” he asked.
Chong asserted that there is a necessity to amend Part VIII of the Financial Services Act, making it mandatory for all banks to compensate account holders when their funds have been transferred to a third party without their knowledge or consent, unless the banks can substantiate that the account holder was complicit in the scam and benefited from the occurrence. — DayakDaily
