Woman longhouse chief cheated in lottery scam

SIBU: A woman longhouse chief lost RM50,000 to a couple in a RM200,000 lottery scam.

The incident occurred when the woman, 63, was approached by a man and a woman, who introduced themselves as ‘Joseph’ and ‘ Helen’, at Sibu Central Market on April 23 at 10am.

They said they wanted to help a foreigner who could not claim the RM200,000 lottery prize money because he did not have an identity card.

“They asked for my gold jewellery and said I would be getting part of the prize money for helping, but, I rejected them,” the longhouse chieftain said.

They asked for my gold jewellery and said I would be getting part of the prize money for helping, but, I rejected them. Woman longhouse chief

After she told them she had savings at a bank at Kampung Datu Road, the couple asked her to withdraw RM100,000.

‘ Helen’ then accompanied her to the bank to make the cash withdrawal.

A bank officer, who suspected something amiss because of the large amount, advised the victim to be careful.

Although ‘ Helen’ asked her to withdraw all her money, the Tuai Rumah said she only gave ‘Helen’ RM50,000 because she was only allowed to make two RM25,000 withdrawals.

‘Helen’ then gave the RM50,000 to ‘ Joseph’, who was waiting outside the bank.

The victim said ‘Joseph’ promised he would accompany her to claim the lottery prize money, but did not mention when.

She did not mention the incident to anyone, not even her husband and children.

Two weeks later, the chieftain realised that she had been deceived after she failed to contact the couple.

She lodged a police report at the Central Police Station on Wednesday.