A 50-year-old housewife paid a heavy price for believing a man who had promised to help her to obtain a winning lottery ticket worth RM1.5 million.
She was duped into paying RM40,000 in a series of ten payments to a man whom she got to know through a “sure strike” lottery number-prediction advertisement on a leaflet recently.
Last Friday, she was asked by the suspect to bank in RM15,000 to him has payment for the “winning” lottery ticket commission. She managed to bank in RM5,000. The man then told her that he would pay the balance on her behalf and she will have to refund him the money when she received her winnings.
She then spent RM5,400 buying prayer materials and has received nothing from the man except for two written notes supposedly from Pendang, Kedah, a lottery betting slip and a picture of money.
The housewife, realising that she has been conned, immediately lodged a police report at the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah police station.
Yesterday, the man called and asked her to bank in RM13,000 which he claimed was to expedite the process of claiming the lottery money.
She advised the public not to believe such claims made by strangers, and has lost her savings. She has since borrowed money from family members and friends. At the same time, she said she was lucky for not needing to resort to loan sharks.
Meanwhile, OCPD Johor Bahru (north), AC Ruslan Kassim confirmed receiving the report and said that the police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code, for cheating, which carries a maximum jail term of ten years or whipping and a fine.