Two businessmen lose RM338,000 over water supply scam during Sabah polls

KUALA KANGSAR: Two businessmen suffered losses amounting to RM338,000 after being cheated by a syndicate posing as Home Ministry officials offering a mineral water supply project for the Sabah state election, recently.

Kuala Kangsar district police chief ACP Omar Bakhtiar Yaacob said one of the businessmen from Selangor was contacted by a syndicate member on September 2 regarding the project offer and asked him to deposit RM50,000.

He said the 54-year-old businessman had come here on September 21 to meet his 40-year-old friend before depositing the money requested by the suspect at Maybank Kuala Kangsar.

"The suspect has contacted the businessman and claimed that the Election Commission (EC) has requested another security deposit of RM100,000 as well as asking him to supply 20,000 bottles of mineral water worth RM288,000 for the use of 31 polling areas in Sabah.

“The businessman had sent an employee to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to make a purchase of 20,000 boxes of mineral water worth RM288,000 on September 22,” he said in a press conference at the Kuala Kangsar district police headquarters here, yesterday.

Omar Bakhtiar said the suspect then contacted the businessman and told him he could get back the deposit money for the mineral water supply project on September 29.

“The businessman, however, realised that he had been deceived after the suspect did not answer his calls, and he later lodged a report at the Kuala Kangsar Police Station at 1.30 pm, yesterday,” he said.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

According to Omar Bakhtiar, the group's modus operandi was to offer government contracts and projects to certain businessmen, besides offering datukships.