SIBU: Police have remanded two male suspects for their alleged involvement in the Liberia job scam for four days starting today.
State Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said the remand order was granted by Magistrate Muhammad Faizal Che Saad at the Sibu Magistrate’s Court.
On Tuesday, the suspects, aged 53 and 60 years old, were rounded up at 9.30am and 10am at different locations.
“One of the suspects was arrested at a house at Jalan Cherry while the other suspect was arrested at the Sibu District Police Headquarters compound.”
Mustafa pointed out that the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. The job scam in Liberia affected eight Sarawakians. One of them, a 40-year-old man from Kapit, lodged a police report at 8.48am here on Tuesday.
“Initial investigations revealed that in Dec last year, the victim received a text message via “WeChat” from a man who offered him a job in the timber industry in Liberia.
“The victim and seven others agreed to take up the job offer. They met a man who then sorted their visa and flight tickets,” said Mustafa.
He said on Jan 3, all eight victims were escorted by the man to Liberia and brought to Mount Barclay upon arrival. After a month, the victims realised that the job offer never existed. To survive, they were forced to sell off their personal belongings including watches and mobile phones.
“The victims, who were left stranded in Monrovia, Liberia since Feb 4,.were flown back to Malaysia on March 4. They arrived in Sibu on Monday,” Mustafa added.
According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, all eight victims, namely Gawan Masin, Enyang Ato, Aji Surau, Untol Luyang, Salim Tahir, Suhaili Gani, Bon Egat and Dingai Nyalak, aged between 39 and 66 years old, were cheated by a local job scam syndicate.
