MELAKA: Four colleagues claimed that they have become victims of a woman, an "ibu kutu" (mastermind) which runs a tontine fund, resulting in them incurring losses of more than RM100,000.
The four colleagues claimed that they were duped into taking part in the tontine fund which promised profits or returns of 60 per cent from the down payment, after being asked to join by another colleague who was living the good, luxurious life.
One of the victims who only wished to be known as Nor, 33, claimed that when she first joined the tontine fund, she did not suspect anything amiss and was confident that her colleague would not cheat her of her hard earned money.
Nor claimed that she too wanted to live the good life like her colleague who told her that she could do so with the earnings from the tontine fund.
"After being invited to join the scheme, I relented and joined in February last year with an initial investment of RM1,500. And it did not stop there, I kept on making one payment, one investment after another, chalking up 24 transactions until December last year where now I am saddled with losses of hundreds of thousands of Ringgit.
"On the bright side, luckily I did not take any loans, but still, all the money I was cheated off was my hard earned savings which I had kept aside over time to renovate my home. And now I have nothing but losses," said Nor after lodging a police report at the Melaka Tengah Police Station here yesterday.
Another victim who only wished to be identified as May, in her 30s, said she became interested in the tontine fund as she wanted to make extra money to pay off her housing loan, though now she was left with losses of around RM20,000.
"I started making payments in June and then the very next month as well. It was RM5,000 per transaction. The dividends promised to me were 60 per cent in just three months which was too good to be true.
"However, during the month where I was promised I would get the returns of my investment, all sorts of lame excuses were given and our colleague who dragged us into the tontine fund went silent. Now I am worried, stressed out and at a loss to find the money to pay for the loan," she said.
Meanwhile, Pertubuhan Kepimpinan Melayu Malaysia chairman, Md Firdaus Mashor said 10 individuals from Melaka who claimed to be victims of the same mastermind of the tontine fund, had made a police report.
"We urge all who have been duped, scammed and conned to please come forward and lodge police reports so that further action can be taken.
"It is also known that in Melaka and Johor, there are about 40 victims who are believed to have been duped by such a tontine fund with losses incurred to be around RM1.3 million," he said.
Meanwhile, Melaka Tengah District Police chief, Assistant Commissioner Christopher Patit, confirmed having received the police reports lodged by the victims.
