Woman on way to Miri market conned of RM15,000 by foreign shamans

MIRI (March 9): A senior citizen in Miri lost RM15,000 of her life savings after falling victim to a scam carried out by three foreign women posing as shamans.

Miri police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the incident occurred around 8am on March 4 at the Krokop Central Market here, when the victim was on her way to buy vegetables.

The 60-year-old victim was first approached by a foreign woman, who asked where she could buy red ginger, claiming it was needed to treat her husband.

“Shortly afterwards, two other women joined the conversation before inviting the victim to continue chatting inside a car parked behind the market due to the hot weather,” Mohd Farhan said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Inside the car, one of the suspects told the victim that the feng shui of her house was bad and that there were evil forces that could bring misfortune to her and her family.”

He said the suspect then claimed that a ritual cleansing needed to be performed and asked the victim to prepare a handful of rice, gold jewellery, and cash.

Believing the suspects, the victim returned home and handed over rice, gold jewellery, and cash totalling around RM15,000.

A suspect then placed the items into a bag and told the victim that it had been blessed and must not be opened for three days.

On March 6, the victim opened the bag to discover that it only contained salt, two small bottles of mineral water, and a packet of tissue.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, for cheating, which provides for a jail term of between one year and 10 years, and may also include caning and a fine upon conviction.

Mohd Farhan advised the public to remain vigilant and not easily believe individuals who claim to possess supernatural powers or offer ritual services to change fate or solve life’s problems for a fee.

He emphasised that members of the public must not hand over money or valuables to strangers.

He also called on anyone who has fallen victim to similar incidents or has information related to this case to lodge a report at the nearest police station to assist with the investigation.