M'sian woman allegedly colludes with lover to defraud family & friends of RM2.3 million, now uncontactable

A Malaysian woman schemed with her lover to defraud her family of RM2.36 million (S$738,000), telling them to invest in lucrative opportunities with her boyfriend's network of high-ranking officials.

According to China Press, her victims include her parents, her brother, and seven other relatives and friends.

The events took place in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, a town 30km away from Malacca.

Her family has decided to share the incident with Malaysian media as she has recently become uncontactable.

Lavish lover

Her 71-year-old mother, Xu Yatao (transliteration), told China Press that the fraudulent activities began in 2020, after she began to date a man only known by his surname, Chen.

The woman, who is the youngest daughter of the family, was formerly was married to another man but divorced him after meeting Chen.

Chen often presented himself as generous and lavish, China Press noted.

The mum claimed that he often spoke about money in a grandstanding manner, boasting of his contacts with officials and his ability to gain access to lucrative investment opportunities.

The woman then began to persuade her mother to invest, telling her that such opportunities were hard to come by.

Though she initially refused, the daughter was persistent, and eventually convinced Xu to hand over RM500,000 (S$156,000).

She and Chen promised to repay the principal and additional interest once the investment began to yield a substantial return. After a few months, they in fact returned a portion of the sum to her, but the remaining amount was never repaid.

This was because they had difficulties with cash flow and their bank account was frozen, they claimed.

Took her mum's bank card

That was not the only instance of her fraudulent activities.

Xu said that her daughter had also taken her bank card without her knowledge and withdrew another RM200,000 (S$62,500).

She only discovered that her money was gone after receiving a notification from the bank a few months ago.

The sum of RM500,000 was reportedly her nest egg, while the RM200,000 was supposed to pay her monthly insurance premiums.

Other kin involved

The alleged scammer's brother, Peng Niangfu (transliteration), 50, was also one of the victims, claiming to have been cheated out of more than RM360,000 (S$112,000) over the years.

The latest instance involved Chen asking to borrow RM30,000 (S$9,383), but Peng, wary that he might not be able to recover the money, only lent him RM5,000 (S$1,563).

Chen disappeared afterwards.

Other victims include the woman's late father, another brother who has passed, and an aunt who intended to use her savings to treat an eye disease.

Mother and brother told China Press that Chen went missing in March, and his whereabouts are now unknown.

As for the younger sister, Xu claimed that she had become uncontactable in recent days, and they understood that she was planning to sell her house, raising fears that she might attempt to escape.

This prompted her family to approach the media to raise awareness about the case.

"Rebellious"

Xu said that the financial loss was less painful than the fact that her own daughter had conspired with another man to deceive her and her family.

She claimed that her daughter had been "rebellious" and "competitive" since young, and did not fully get along with the family.

However, Xu attempted to "tolerate" it to avoid family disputes.

Both Xu and Peng have reported the matter to the police and called for the couple to return to Tampin and explain themselves,  as well as settle the debts.

They stated that the family is willing to meet them to resolve the issue, but if they do not do so, they are ready to take further action.