Yu Wen, Asia Pacific Daily reporter in Kuala Lumpur
Asia Pacific Daily Dan Wei
Eight Chinese citizens were reportedly threatened and blackmailed by local police in Malaysia. According to their attorney, the eight citizens came to Malaysia at the invitation of a local company to explore business opportunities.
Lawyers told the New Straits Times that the eight Chinese citizens, five men and three women, aged between 25 and 45, entered Malaysia between January 27 and January 30. Most of them were visiting the country for the first time.
The lawyer said he was notified of the case by one of his clients from China shortly after midnight on February 6. "I got a call saying they needed urgent help. I rushed to the house and when I arrived all of them were visibly shaken."
Lawyers said police seized all electronic and mobile devices and examined them. "They looked at all the data and found nothing incriminating." Despite this, lawyers said, police insisted the group was running a fraud centre. “They told my clients they couldn’t find anything but were convinced the Chinese group had bad intentions.
“They then demanded that the group pay them, otherwise the police would have the immigration detain them for 21 days before deporting them.” The lawyer said the police initially demanded RM400,000 but later agreed to accept RM200,000 in cryptocurrency. "They provided a cryptocurrency account and instructions to transfer the money there. Once the transfer was completed, they left home at approximately 12.30am. The entire process lasted approximately one and a half hours."
The lawyers added that the eight Chinese nationals were unable to seek help during this period because their mobile phones were taken away. "They only allowed the eldest among them to contact his boss in China by phone to arrange a transfer. The boss runs a conglomerate engaged in jewelry and real estate development. "The eight people were invited by a local company to inspect business opportunities. "
The lawyer said he immediately drafted a police report and accompanied them to the Kajang police station to submit the report. He also questioned the classification of the case. "If this was extortion, why was it classified as samun berkawan (gang robbery)? That was one of the questions we asked."
He added that an identification process has since been conducted and several police officers have been identified, including the individual who allegedly received the cryptocurrency. However, lawyers expressed frustration with the progress of the investigation. "We have provided the necessary details of cryptocurrency transactions. There was supposed to be a special unit that could trace cryptocurrencies, but we were told that this would be very difficult."
He also found it "bizarre" that investigators repeatedly asked his client when he left Malaysia and when he returned. "They said this was to ensure they could serve as witnesses in the future. I reminded them that I was their attorney and they could contact me at any time."
The lawyer further said that the handling of the case by the police's commercial crime unit was not reassuring. "My clients are guests in this country. They are here at the invitation of a local company to do market research, not as scammers. And, the police found nothing incriminating on them or their devices, so why threaten and 'blackmail' them?"
