Senior Citizen Scammed Of RM98,000 In Traditional Healing Fraud

TANGKAK, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- An elderly woman lost RM98,000 after being deceived by a face-to-face traditional healing offer involving fortune-telling on Jan 23.

Tangkak District Police Chief Supt Roslan Mohd Talib said that the 69-year-old victim was offered the healing method and was told she would allegedly be struck by misfortune in the near future.

He said the victim was required to hand over her cash and jewelry for a ritual prayer intended to ward off evil and eliminate the bad luck.

"The victim, who believed the claims, withdrew RM90,000 in savings from the bank and gathered jewellery valued at approximately RM8,000 to be handed over to the suspect for the treatment.

"The suspect then entered a silver Perodua Axia and produced a black plastic bag, instructing the victim to place the cash and jewelry inside to be 'blessed' with incantations," he said in a statement today.

Roslan added that the suspect then went to the back of the car before returning the black plastic bag to the victim, instructing her not to open it for a month.

"However, the victim opened the bag after just three days only to find that her cash and jewellery were gone. They had been replaced with instant noodles, several packets of fine salt, and two bottles of mineral water.

"The victim lodged a police report yesterday, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code," he said.

At the same time, the police advised the public to remain vigilant and not be easily deceived by strangers in any dealings involving the handover of cash or jewelry to avoid becoming victims of face-to-face scams.

-- BERNAMA