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Conman in RM500,000 scam sought
Alina Simon

ALOR STAR, KEDAH, Sat.
A young confidence trickster has got away with about RM500,000 in two weeks.

Pos Malaysia He did this by buying goods in bulk using bad cheques and re-selling the items at rock-bottom prices fast.

Police said the suspect, 25, had duped 25 businessmen from as far as Kuala Lumpur in the scam which he pulled off last month.

State Commercial Crime Department chief Deputy Superintendent Ghuzlan Saleh said in all the cases, the suspect had issued post-dated cheques to willing wholesalers for a wide range of goods which included diapers, canned drinks and fruits.

He said the suspect's scam came to light after a sports club here complained of a bounced RM10,000 cheque for five golf sets on May 19.

Earlier the same month, he cheated a wholesaler in Penang of household goods, comprising kitchenware and appliances, valued at about RM94,000.

Another case in Penang involved the purchase of several thousand chicks and ducklings, worth RM60,000, from a poultry farmer.

Even lorry companies which helped to deliver the goods to his buyers fell for his scam.

Ghuzlan said to pass himself off as a genuine businessman, the suspect had rented two shoplots in Bakar Arang near Sungai Petani.

He said many of the goods were displayed at the shoplots as going-out-of-business items while some were delivered directly to buyers who paid in advance.

"By the time the wholesalers and businessmen realised they had been duped, it was already too late.

"They tried calling the suspect on the handphone or at his office, but the telephone lines had been disconnected," he said.

Ghuzlan said the police had located two of the suspect's customers in Perak and recovered several crates of canned drinks and more than 100 bags of fertiliser from them.

"We appeal to those who have been cheated or bought the goods from the suspect to contact us."

He said the police were also eager to contact Chian Kok Foo to help in the investigations.

His last known address was No 2 Persiaran Bercham Timur 3, Ipoh.

Those with information on Chian can contact Chief Inspector Zainal Omar at 019-4414651 or the Kedah police contingent headquarters at 04-7741222.