KUALA LUMPUR: A man bearing the title "Datuk Seri" is suspected to have cheated at least two foreigners by promising them Malaysian residency permits for a certain fee.
Retiree Siew Kam Seong, 64, said he acted as an intermediary for foreigners to obtain residency permits from the "Datuk Seri".
He said he had known the man for 10 years and trusted that he had close connections with high-ranking officers in the Immigration Department.
"He asked me to find several foreigners, and they could obtain residency permits by paying a certain amount. For that, I recruited two Nepali citizens. In April 2023, they paid RM50,000, which I promptly deposited into Datuk Seri's bank account.
"However, after a month, their applications had still not been processed... the excuse given was that the foreigners had tax arrears with the Inland Revenue Board," he told reporters at the Teratai assemblyman's service centre, here.
Siew said that until now, only RM3,000 has been refunded.
"I filed a police report in December last year, but there has been no progress in the investigation until today," he said.
Meanwhile, Teratai assemblyman Yew Jia Haur said he would be getting in touch with police to enquire on the status of the investigation.
"We have also written a letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, dated Jan 11, regarding the status of the police investigation.
"We will take further action to assist the victims in recovering the money from the man after receiving a response," he said.
