Scores fall for jobs Down Under scam

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: They parted with their savings and left their jobs hoping to receive better salaries abroad. But the victims were left high and dry with their dreams crushed when the jobs they were promised in Australia and New Zealand turned out to be nothing more than a scam.

To make matters worse, the scammers have since absconded and the “recruitment” office has been vacated.

The nightmare for more than 20 local and foreign victims began when they responded to a job advertisement last month which promised a salary of between RM9,000 and RM12,000 a month for plucking and packaging fruits in the two countries.

Yesterday, the victims turned up at MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong’s office to share their stories and plead for their money to be returned.

Chong said some had lost RM4,000 while others had been cheated of amounts as high as RM30,000 as more than one family member had applied for the jobs.

The victims had paid the company for their flight tickets, processing fee and work permits by forking out an average of between RM5,000 and RM6,000 per person, he said.

“We believe over 150 people, including foreigners, had been cheated by the scammers.

“Many police reports have been lodged and we estimate the victims to have lost about RM1mil in total. Some have also lost their passports.

“It is very sad that many have left their jobs and lost their savings because of this scam,” Chong said at a press conference here yesterday.

Chong said the victims, including a couple who paid over RM11,000, were supposed to leave the country on Oct 28.

“The victims became suspicious when they were told to go to the New Zealand embassy in Putrajaya on a Saturday to collect their visas.

They knew that the embassy was not located there.

“Their fears came true when they went to the ‘recruitment’ office only to find it abandoned,” he said, adding that the couple lodged a police report on Thursday.

He advised those applying for jobs overseas to research the companies and confirm with the embassies if such work permit applications were being processed.

Cheras OCPD Asst Comm Mohan Singh confirmed that police had received reports on the matter.

The company, which placed advertisements in major job websites, had previously advertised for the position of general workers in Australia and New Zealand, offering salaries of between RM10,000 and RM13,000.