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Han Solo
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Wednesday January 12, 2011
Cops hunt for suspect in quit rent scam
GEORGE TOWN: Police are looking for an administrative assistant who is believed to have cancelled 169 quit rent bills, generated bills for lower amounts and pocketed the difference amounting to more than RM130,900.
State commercial crime department chief Asst Comm Roslee Chik said police were expected to arrest the man, who is now believed to be in Kuala Lumpur, by next week.
Earlier yesterday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the suspect was able to carry out his alleged misconduct by “stealing” the username and password belonging to the officer entrusted with the right to cancel bills.
“The Penang State Treasury Department was notified on March 16 last year by the North Seberang Prai district officer that the said amount was missing,” said Lim at a press conference here yesterday.
State financial officer Datuk Farizan Darus, who led the investigation, said the suspect was temporarily transferred to the Management Services Department in the district in December 2009.
He went missing the following month. Farizan said the chief assistant district officer then lodged a police report on Feb 19 last year.
Following the incident, he added that all district and land office employees had been instructed to change their password every three months.
He also said that all affected quit rent bills would be honoured. “We will inform the house owners to bring along last year’s bill when they make their payment this year. This will allow us to ascertain the amount embezzled,” he said.
