Datuk sought over RM21million
land scam
The Star 30/7/2005 BY LOURDES CHARLES
KUALA LUMPUR: A well-known property developer who is a Datuk is being sought
by police for alleged involvement in a land scam worth RM21mil.
It is learnt that the City Police Commercial Crimes Department have arrested
three people and are looking for at least five more, including the Datuk,
who were alleged to have duped the KL Land Office into transferring
ownerships of land to their name.
Sources said the City Police Commercial Crimes Department busted the
syndicate's activities following a report lodged last month by the director
of a company who owned the land.
They said the Datuk and his accomplices had duped the Land Office during the
upgrading of its computerisation programme. (The Land Office had previously
recorded the transactions manually and had only recently been fully
computerised.)
They said the Datuk and his accomplices had mortgaged the land to an
insurance company for more than RM10mil and were in the process of obtaining
more money for the land when the police moved in.
The sources also said that the scam was exposed when the owner of the land,
who is a company director, went to pay quit rent at the KL Land Office and
was told that the quit rent had already been paid.
Upon further enquiries, the director was told by a land officer that he was
not the owner of the land. The director then furnished proof to the Land
Office and later lodged a report at the City Police Commercial Crimes
Department.
A task force headed by City Commercial Crimes chief ACP Mohamad Arif and
Deputy Supt Mohamad Shariff Wahid conducted a series of operations that led
to the arrest of three suspects.
They have been remanded and are expected to be charged soon.
City Chief Police Officer Deputy Commissioner Datuk Mustafa Abdullah
confirmed the report and the arrests.
“We have solved the case and are looking for several more suspects whose
identity are known to us,” he said.
