Conman taunts victim to catch him if he can

July 8, 2013 MYT 10:02:54 AM

JOHOR BARU: Not content with fleecing his 20-year-old victim of RM14,000 through a bogus car deal, a conman is now taunting his victim to catch him if he wants the money back.

Since the incident, the victim Tyo Jia Ren has been having sleepless nights thinking about the money that he lost and being disturbed by the conman who kept sending him messages through the social messaging system.

The ordeal for Tyo who works as wireman in Singapore, started after befriending a man who was about his age during an outing at a club in Century Garden early last month.

“This man told me that he had a white Toyota Wish that he wanted to sell for only RM14,000.

“Thinking that it was a very good offer, I did not hesitate to buy the car, especially since the man seemed very confident, dressed well and was wearing a Rolex watch,” he said.

The conman, he said, also drove a sporty 4WD vehicle and they met several times to discuss the sale of the car.

Tyo initially banked in RM4,500 into the man’s account and later met with him in Permas Jaya to settle the remaining RM9,500 in cash on June 17.

“The man assured me that I will get the car the next day.

“Throughout all the transaction, the man never once showed me the actual car.

“He had only showed me pictures of the white car,” he added.

Tyo said to make matters worse, the conman had been contacting him via the social messaging system taunting him to locate him.

“In one of his messages, he claimed that my parents are rich and that if I want my money back, I have to get the money back myself,” he said.

Tyo said his father had scolded him for being gullible after he was informed about the incident.

Both Tyo and his father who only wanted to be known as Ah Chun, 42, then lodged a report at the Johor Baru MCA Public Complaints Bureau department.

“I hope he comes out and settles this problem soon,” he added.

Meanwhile, the department’s deputy chairman Michael Tay urged the public to be wary of anybody offering them a cheap car.

“The first thing to do when people want to sell cheap cars is to ascertain whether the car genuinely belongs to them,” he said, adding that proper documents should also be produced and prepared to ensure both parties were protected.

Meanwhile, a police official when contacted confirmed that a police report had been lodged.

He urged those with information to contact the police hotline at 07-221 2999.