KUANTAN: A woman in Maran, near here, was allegedly cheated out of RM56,360 by a travel agent who claimed to organise trips to China.
The 37-year-old victim, who had been corresponding with the ‘travel agent’ via WhatsApp since 2018, had been appointed to collect travel fare from 29 of her friends for a group tour of China, scheduled to begin on Dec 12, this year.
After taking on the role of tour leader, the woman began collecting between RM1,650 and RM1,990 from each of her friends. Most of the prospective tourists paid the fare in instalments from 2018 until last month, Bernama reported.
After receiving the final figure of RM56,360, the woman claims she banked the money into the ‘agent’s’ account.
But on Dec 9, the victim received a message from the ‘agent’ saying that the trip had been cancelled.
After being uncontactable for a brief period, the ‘agent’ allegedly told the woman that he had mismanaged the money, but promised to return it to her over a three-month period.
He has not been contactable since.
On Saturday, the woman lodged a police report at the Maran police station, Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Superintendent Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof told reporters here, today.
He added that police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which provides for up to 10 years’ jail, whipping and a fine upon conviction.