Family loses RM43,000 in scam over release of detainee

Police warn families of detainees to raise the alarm if any one calls offering to release a detainee for payment.

PETALING JAYA: Family members of police detainees are the latest victims of a scam to make them part with tens of thousands of ringgit.

This was revealed by police following a report made by one such family last week, theSun reported.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Mohd Sukri Kaman told reporters yesterday that a man claiming to be a senior district police officer had called the family of a man who had been detained for drug possession a few days earlier.

“The caller had demanded RM50,000 as ‘bail’ for the release of the detainee but the family could only raise RM43,000 and deposited it into a bank account as ordered by the suspect,” Sukri was quoted as saying by the daily.

The family then filed a police report after their loved one was not released as promised.

Following quick action by a police team from the district commercial crimes investigations department, two suspects were held in Sepang and Nilai, respectively. They are both in their 20s.

According to theSun, police said the suspects were traced through their bank accounts which was where the RM43,000 had been deposited. The two youths are under investigation for cheating, after a five-day remand order was issued.

Police believe other members of this scam operation are now in hiding following the arrest and police are doing all they can to trace these culprits.

Sukri advised family members of detainees to be wary and warn the police should unscrupulous people offer to get such detainees off the hook with a payment. -FMT