JOHOR BARU: Two persons, including a Korean woman who was recently nabbed for involvement in an airline ticketing scam, are also believed to have duped people into investing in fake military contracts in Sabah.
It is learnt that the couple, who promised lucrative returns, had purportedly showed their Korean victims an offer letter for multi-million ringgit maintenance work at an army camp in Sabah.
A Korean woman known as Kim said that she was asked to invest in the project.
“I thought they were genuine as they are part of the Korean community in Malaysia. They also showed me documents, including a letter from a Malaysian army general about the project.
“I genuinely thought they needed money to help do this project and I decided to invest almost RM500,000,” she said, adding that she only heard about it being a scam following the recent media reports about the couple who had also been involved in an airline ticketing scam.
When asked how much in return was promised to her as an investor, Kim said that her money was to double within a few months.
The couple, a Malaysian in his 20s and his Korean wife in her 30s, was arrested in Sabah last month after more than 40 police reports were lodged against them for being the masterminds of a flight ticket scam totalling more than RM2mil.
Most of the reports, lodged since April, were made in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang.
It is learnt that at least 200 Koreans may have fallen for the ticketing scam.
The couple was then brought back to Johor for investigations.
The ticketing scam involved the duo taking deposits for cheap flights back to South Korea during the Covid-19 pandemic but tickets were not provided or refunded.
The couple, who set up a tour agency about three years ago, are believed to have used the money on themselves.
When contacted, a senior police officer said the couple has been handed over to their counterparts from other states for investigations due to the many reports lodged against the couple.
“They are being investigated for cheating,” he said, adding that they have since wrapped up their part of the investigation.