KUALA LUMPUR: Harsher punishments may await owners and real estate agents who rent out premises to scam syndicates, with property owners or their agents potentially considered as accomplices, said Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.
He said police needed to be strict in order to deter people from allowing these syndicates to set up call centres to scam the public.“We are studying the use of Section 34 and Section 109 of the Penal Code together with Section 420 against those found renting out premises to scam call centres,” he said at the CCID headquarters here yesterday.
Comm Ramli said owners and agents should not just think of money before accepting tenants.
“They need to be more proactive and aware of what is going on in the premises rented out,” he said.Comm Ramli said there was an increase in fraud cases through call centres this year compared with the previous two years.
“This year, between January and October, we arrested 791 locals and 369 foreigners and seized over 10,000 devices. In 2022, we arrested 643 suspects, with only 332 suspects nabbed in 2021,” he added.
Separately, Comm Ramli said four more suspects have been arrested yesterday in connection with the probe into i-Serve, bringing the total number of persons arrested to eight.
Two women and a man, aged between 30 and 48 years old, were arrested outside the CCID headquarters at around 1pm.
“The first suspect, a 30-year-old woman, worked at i-Serve Technology & Vacation Sdn Bhd as a treasury assistant. Our investigations revealed that she worked dealing with the company finances and ticketing with airlines,” he said when contacted.
Comm Ramli said she was also appointed to the board of directors for the companies Trillion Cove Sdn Bhd, Trillion Cove Holdings Bhd and Win Capital Holdings.
“She was also appointed as a general partner at QA Smart Partnership PLT, QA Premium Partnership PLT and QA Elite Partnership PLT where the suspect and staff were responsible to monitor accounts where investors make deposits,” he said.
The second suspect, a 33-year-old woman, worked online at I-Serve Technology & Vacation Sdn Bhd in 2013 as a finance assistant.“She worked in managing finances and ticketing with a low-cost airline. She was appointed to the board of directors at Advance Digital Venture Bhd, Ample Prosperity Sdn Bhd, Cantik Capital Sdn Bhd and Win Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd,” he said.
The third suspect is a 48-year-old man who started working at i-Serve Technology & Vacation Sdn Bhd as a research and development manager in 2006.
“He worked creating systems and software for the company. He was appointed to the board of directors for MyAirline Sdn Bhd, Trillion Cove Capital Sdn Bhd, Trillion Cove Holdings Bhd and Win Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd,” he said.
The fourth suspect, a 62-year-old man, who worked as a lawyer for i-Serve, was arrested separately at Bukit Tunku.
“He was handed over to the Anti-Money Laundering division for further action,” he said, adding that the four would be remanded.
Prior to this, police had arrested MYAirline co-founder Datuk Allan Goh, 57, his wife and son on Oct 17. All three have been released upon their remand’s expiry.On Monday, police also arrested a man in his 40s, believed to be an i-Serve shareholder at his home in Bangsar, where he is remanded until today.
Comm Ramli said they were in the midst of determining the exact number of individuals who invested in the company.
“Having these investors come forward would help our investigations.
“These investors can be considered victims, so it is good for them to come forward and lodge a report,” he added.
