50 Taiwanese, Chinese suspects arrested for telecom fraud in Malaysia
2012/12/25 19:23:35
Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 25 (CNA) Malaysian law enforcement officials have arrested 50 Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese and one Malaysian national for their alleged role in an international phone scam targeting mainland Chinese nationals in Malaysia on Monday.
"The bust was a result of long-term cooperation between Taiwan, China and Malaysia," Khamar Rudin, an official from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department under the Royal Malaysian Police, said on Tuesday.
The suspects had allegedly set up two server sites in Selangor, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, and in Kuala Lumpur, Rudin said, adding that the illegal money earned from the fraud was estimated to be over 1 billion yuan (US$34.4 million).
The officials also seized computers and telecommunications equipment, as well as handbooks on how to conduct a telecom-based fraud, during a raid at a luxury housing complex.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia provided assistance to the Malaysian officers as the majority of suspects involved in the case are Taiwanese nationals.
All the Taiwanese suspects will be deported to Taiwan directly without undergoing trial in Malaysia, because the scam's victims were in mainland China rather than Malaysia, Rudin said.
Information about the fraudsters was provided by mainland Chinese police authorities, following which the suspects were placed under surveillance for a week, Rudin said.
(By Kuo Chao-he and Hanna Liu)
ENDITEM/Shradhha
