Steely determination: Lai Pei Jing gets ready to play with Tan Kian Meng in Jakarta.
PETALING JAYA: Even scammers can’t break professional mixed doubles shuttler Lai Pei Jing resolve.
The 31-year-old Pei Jing proved to be the iron lady of Malaysian badminton as she turned up in Jakarta along with Tan Kian Meng to compete in the Indonesian Open which starts today despite losing most of her life savings to scammers.
Pei Jing also played in the Singapore Open with Kian Meng last week despite dealing with the heartbreaking issue and made it to the second round before going down fighting 18-21, 21-18, 10-21 to Netherlands’ Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek.
Her bravery after such a traumatic incident is commendable.
Pei Jing said being a victim to scammers would not force her into hiding but she has chosen to stand up and be the voice for others. She wants to help others from falling into the same trap of the unscrupulous group.
“I’m just trying to be a good example. All victims should dare to speak out to those close to them and report to the police,” said Pei Jing.
“These are the first steps. I’m here to start to lead them to do the right thing.”
Pei Jing shared about her ordeal in an emotional social media post on Saturday night and admitted that it did not pay to be kind.
“I was scammed out of almost all my life savings by a fraud group. Honestly, this has been an extremely heavy blow to me,” said Pei Jing.
“My hard-earned savings from decades of hard work. Naturally, I replay the entire scam and fall into a state of blaming myself for my foolishness and kindness.
“It takes great courage to speak out about being scammed because who wants to tell others I was foolishly deceived, right?
“These past few days, I have been managing my emotions and dealing with the police.
“Once I’ve adjusted, I’ll share more about it. I hope to prevent more victims and also force myself to accept the fact that I was scammed,” added Pei Jing.
Pei Jing found comfort from former international Tan Boon Heong, who was also a victim of scam in 2017 where he lost millions.
“Seeing my fellow shuttler getting scammed reminds me of when I was scammed too twice in 2017. We should not trust people easily,” said Boon Heong.
“Every scam you fall for teaches you something. That’s just life – you can’t avoid the detours. Everyone has to take at least one.
In the Indonesian Open today, Pei Jing will soldier on with Kian Meng and will play Algeria’s Koceila Mammeri-Tanina Mammeri in the first round.
Meanwhile, the other Malaysian mixed doubles pairs in the fray are Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and youngsters Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee.
