JOHOR BAHRU, April 3 — A company manager lost more than RM1.3 million after allegedly falling victim to a fraudulent land sale scheme in Kulai earlier this year.

Kulai police chief ACP Tan Seng Lee said a report on the incident was lodged on January 8 by a 42-year-old man.

Initial investigations found that the victim’s company, through its appointed lawyer, had expressed interest in purchasing a property and subsequently paid a deposit to a law firm purportedly representing the seller.

“However, the victim was later informed that the deposit had been released to the seller even though the transaction had not been finalised,” he said in a statement today.

He added that the victim later discovered that the actual landowner had never appointed any party to sell the property, prompting him to lodge a police report after realising he had been cheated.

The victim claimed that his company suffered losses of RM1,338,163.20 in a scam involving the law firm.

Tan said the case concerned a proposed purchase of more than 80 hectares (200 acres) of land in the Mukim Sedenak area.

He added that the law firm is believed to have been operating in the Kulai area for over 10 years.

“So far, no arrests have been made. The suspect has been identified, and investigations are ongoing to gather supporting documents and evidence,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a sentence of one to ten years’ imprisonment, along with caning and a fine upon conviction.

Members of the public are urged to exercise caution and use official channels provided by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), including the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), CCID Infoline, and Semak Mule, to verify financial transactions.

They can also stay informed about commercial crime methods via the official Royal Malaysia Police Facebook page. — Bernama