JOHOR BARU, Jan 29 — Police are searching for a conman who impersonated a Johor assemblyman and tricked a 55-year-old constituent into parting with nearly RM5,000 for a school computer programme that turned out to be fake.

Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Salleh Abdullah said the case was being investigated according to Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

“Police had earlier received a report from a 55-year-old man who claimed to have been deceived of RM4,850 for a school computer assistance programme in the assemblyman's constituency last Wednesday.

“The suspect had contacted the victim using the mobile phone line 010-3865922 and introduced himself by impersonating as the assemblyman before informing that he wanted to borrow RM1,350.

Advertisement

“The suspect then asked the victim to transfer money to what police believed to be a mule account in the name of Marlon Talib and later requested to transfer an additional amount of RM3,500 to the same account,” Mohd Salleh said in a statement today.

He did not disclose the name of the constituency used by the conman. Johor has 56 state constituencies.

Mohd Salleh said the victim suspected he was being cheated after he was asked again to make a transfer of an additional RM1,500 but could not reach the “assemblyman” later.

Advertisement

He said the victim then reported the incident at the Batu Pahat police station on the same day.

Mohd Salleh advised the public to be wary of such tactics by checking and confirming such requests from the relevant department or individual before making any financial transactions.

“At the same time, the public are urged to meet the individuals who want to borrow money face-to-face and do not easily follow the instructions given through WhatsApp and other social media platforms to avoid being duped,” he said.