A 73-year-old retired hawker in Malaysia was allegedly swindled of RM100,000 (about S$32,000) after being deceived into believing she was applying for a so-called “senior assistance fund”, with police arresting one of the suspects earlier this month.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the incident took place on 21 July last year, when the elderly woman was about to leave a supermarket in Selayang, Selangor, at around 11.30am.
She was approached by two men who claimed she was eligible to receive a RM500 (S$160) senior assistance payment.
The men reportedly handed her the amount upfront and told her that she could receive higher-value cash vouchers if she withdrew a larger sum from her bank account.
Believing the claim, the woman followed the two men to a bank in Kepong.
She was later driven back to her home in Cheras to retrieve her bank passbook, before being taken to a bank in Putrajaya.
The two suspects swindling another elderly woman in September 2025.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
The suspects allegedly told her that if she withdrew RM100,000, she would be able to redeem the same amount in assistance funds.
The woman subsequently signed the withdrawal documents and handed over RM100,000 in cash to the two men.
After succeeding, the suspects attempted to persuade her to withdraw additional funds from other accounts.
They later brought her to a bank along Ipoh Road in Kuala Lumpur and urged her to withdraw a further RM200,000 (S$63,000).
Source: Andrzej Rostek from Getty Images on Canva, for illustration purposes only
During the transaction, one suspect remained in the car while the other accompanied the woman into the bank.
However, when bank staff requested to see his Malaysian identity card, the suspect fled.
Bank employees then contacted the victim’s child, preventing the additional withdrawal.
Police launched an investigation following a report and arrested one suspect on 12 Jan in the Seremban area of Negeri Sembilan.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and police are expected to charge the suspect in court on Thursday (22 Jan).
Investigations revealed that the suspect has seven prior criminal records and was also wanted in other cases.
In a separate but related case uncovered during investigations, the same two suspects are believed to have used an identical ruse in September last year to swindle a 72-year-old woman from Pahang of RM40,000 (S$13,000).
Source: Sin Chew Daily
The elderly woman was taken from her home to several banks to withdraw money before being abandoned in Rawang, where she reportedly spent a night sleeping on the streets.
She was later found with the help of members of the public, and reunited with her daughter.
Police believe both cases are linked and investigations are ongoing.
Also read: Woman in M’sia scammed of S$378K by ‘anti-scam’ firm she hired to recover S$470 lost to scammers
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Featured image adapted from Sin Chew Daily, for illustration purposes only.