Promised lands turn out to be scams in Johor

JOHOR BAHRU (Oct 1): Two men in their 60s lost thousands of ringgit to conmen who promised lands that did not exist here in two separate cases.

The first case was of a businessman who paid a deposit of more than RM60,000 to buy what was supposed to be land in Kota Tinggi for sand mining.

The scammer who befriended the businessman also claimed to have connections to get the latter a sand mining licence, reported The Star today.

He was duped into believing that the mined sand could be easily sold to Singapore for substantial gains.

To assure him of the authenticity of the investment, the businessman was given a blank cheque to be cashed out should the transaction fell through.

However, after receiving the deposit in Ulu Tiram recently, the man became uncontactable. The cheque was useless too as the account had been closed.

The second case involved a retiree, who wanted to buy a 1.61ha plot in Batu Pahat.

A deposit of about RM12,000 was paid, without any proper documentations, to a “friend” whom he had known for some time,.

When the “friend” did not return his calls, the retiree subsequently decided to check with the land office, which then informed him the land did not exist.

A police official confirmed receiving reports of the two cases, which would be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Source: EdgeProp