600 Conned by Syndicate Promising 'High Paying' Jobs

Malaysian newspaper The Star ran this story on 11 March 2009:

600 conned by syndicate promising 'high paying' jobs
By Gladys Tay

JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: At least 600 people are believed to have been conned by a syndicate promising high-paying jobs of up to S$8,000 (RM19,200) a month on board a cargo ship in Singapore.

The victims, who were retrenched workers or who had quit their jobs, said they have paid S$100 (RM240) or RM250 to an "agent" who was known only as Ah Kwang.

They found out that they were cheated when their "employer" failed to meet them in Johor Jaya on Sunday.

One of the victims, who only wanted to be known as Lee, 21, said that he had quit his job in Singapore as a deliveryman. "I resigned from my job of four years on Friday to start the new job on Sunday but now I am jobless.

"I do not know what to do now," he said adding that he had to settle his monthly car loan repayments.

Another victim, Jazz Lim, 26, she had lost a few hundred ringgit by paying commission fees to the "agent" on behalf of her relatives.

Lim, who sought help from the Johor Jaya assemblymen Tan Cher Puk, said she learned about the jobs from Ah Kwang. "He told me about the high paying jobs and I told my friends and relatives about it.

"Some of them were looking for a job, some were retrenched while others thought it was a good idea to quit their jobs for higher income," she said adding that she felt miserable over the incident.

When contacted, Ah Kwang said he too had been conned by someone who claimed to be a bank manager who told him that he could earn up to S$10,000 (RM24,000) in commission if he could get people to work on the ship.

He said he had found about 200 to 300 people who were interested but he did not receive his commission.

Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaakob confirmed that several police reports had been lodged. He said police are still investigating the case and urged those with information to call the police hotline at 07-221 2999.