Here’s how Macau scammers conned Malaysians out of RM256mil this year

Nation INTERACTIVE: Here’s how Macau scammers conned Malaysians out of RM256mil this year How many tricks are there up a Macau scammer's sleeves? Find out here!  

  Source link

PETALING JAYA: Macau scammers, who have conned Malaysians out of a whopping RM256mil this year, specialise in tricking victims into believing they’re in a jam that they can only get out of by handing over money.

How do they do it?

It starts with a phone call. They introduce themselves either as a policeman, bank officer, PosLaju worker or various other fake identities.

Step two is the fake story.

They tell their potential victims that they are being investigated for money laundering, or that a package addressed to them has been seized by the police and found to contain illicit items. There are many other similar storylines they use.

Their motive is to scare victims into believing they’re in trouble... unless they transfer money into certain bank accounts, or set up “mule accounts” – bank accounts registered under the victim’s name but which are controlled by the scammers.

To find out what these criminals’ bag of tricks looks like, we studied all the news reports we could find about Macau scam cases in Malaysia this year, published by The Star and other local news media. 

 In all, the 71 news reports we examined were based on statements or media conferences by the police. 

https://clips.thestar.com.my/Interactive/scammercall/scamcalls.mp4

 

 

We also looked at statements from the police regarding overall Macau scam statistics, as well as advice from the police and other relevant authorities on how to identify and avoid being conned by these scammers.

Here’s what we found: Macau scammers have many fake stories and identities

From the news reports, we found that Macau scammers use at least 18 different stories to carry out their cons. Check them out in the graphic below:
<div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div><div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div><div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div><div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div>https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad<div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div><div style="width: 100%;"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 150%; padding-top: 0; height: 0;"><iframe frameborder="0" width="1600px" height="2400px" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://view.genial.ly/5f968aedb93d6a0ff8f4c2ad" type="text/html" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="yes" allownetworking="all"></iframe> </div> </div>
Some Macau scammers have also gone high tech.

After telling potential victims that they are suspected of having been involved in a crime, they would then ask them to download a computer application file or go to a website in order to enter their banking details.

The apps and website that the scammers create bear the logo of bodies such as Bank Negara Malaysia. 

 

Source: Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/JSJKPDRM/)Source: Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/JSJKPDRM/)

Macau scammers, according to the news reports, impersonated officers from at least 10 different types of law enforcement agencies or financial institutions.

To make their con more convincing, they sometimes claim to be high ranking officials.

The following are some samples of just a few of the many actual fake identities used by some of the scammers and how they cheat their victims: 

https://view.genial.ly/5fb101bc8224a710119a4190

Following are the Macau Scam stories which The Star has carried since January this year, divided by the type of official the scammer impersonates. Click pause to manually scroll through the cards. Click on any card to read the full story,

 Housewife cheated out of RM60k by 'policeman' in Macau scam

 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/08/24/housewife-cheated-out-of-rm60k-by-039policeman039-in-macau-scamhttps://view.genial.ly/5fb101bc8224a710119a4190https://view.genial.ly/5fb101bc8224a710119a4190

Woman in Penang loses RM20,000 in Macau scam

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/15/woman-in-penang-loses-rm20000-in-macau-scam

Flourish logoInteractive content by Flourish

More than 1,000 Macau Scam cases have been brought to court this year

The sample of 71 news reports which The Star examined is just the tip of the iceberg when compared to the number of cases police receive.

On Nov 16, Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said police recorded 5,218 Macau scam cases from January to October this year with losses amounting to RM256mil.

From the total cases recorded, the police managed to solve 2,676, with 1,420 cases charged in court.

Victims are mostly female and aged 51 and above

Comm Zainuddin said women make up the majority of victims with over 3,000 cases, adding that most of them were aged 51 and above.

The Star's analysis of cases reported in the media found the same victim profile trends. Flourish logoA Flourish data visualization

Here's Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador's advice to the public on how to avoid Macau scammers, specifically those who impersonate police personnel::


https://youtu.be/Yo04-aGjvgs

According to Abdul Hamid, we should not easily believe those who call us claiming to be policemen.

To verify that the caller is a policeman, he advised the public to insist on meeting with the caller at a police station.

He said the public should not reveal any details about their bank accounts to unknown callers.

There are many resources that provide advice on how to avoid becoming a scam victim, as well as timely alerts on the latest scammer tactics.

Among the most useful is the "Cyber Crime Alert Royal Malaysia Police" Facebook page of Bukit Aman's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID).

The Facebook page can be accessed here..

Related stories:

PJ police chief: Total of RM7mil lost from Jan to Nov due to cyber, multimedia crime

Macau scam mastermind nabbed | The Star

Related posts:

Hello, Penang police calling ... Macau Scammers reap RM2.7mil

More heartaches than happiness

Many investors get their fingers burned in dubious money-making schemes M Mall in Penang where MBI investors can exchange their virtual...

Taiwan telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Malaysia and Kenya

How to outsmart smartphone scammers ?

You carry your smartphone everywhere. But the way you use it could leave you vulnerable to specific forms of identity theft, including robocall scams and hackers looking to hijack your phone number. — AP

 

Get-rich-quick 'Bitcoin Formula' exposed: Vincent Tan denies investing US$250m

 

Vincent Tan denies investing US$250m in get-rich-quick 'Formula'

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Corp Bhd founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (<<pic) has denied investing US$250 million in a project known as "The Formula" which allegedly promises huge profits and quick riches.

Tan said in a statement today said that the 'The Formula' is supposedly a share trading platform that allows trades executed through it to beat the stock market with an accuracy of 80% thereby allowing users to make huge profits.

"I refer to a current online media entitled 'Vincent Tan gives back to the people with his latest project" wherein it is reported that I have invested US$250 million in a project known as "The Formula" with a wish to make Malaysians wealthy.

"I would like to categorically deny that I have made an investment in this project or that I am in any way involved in it and there is absolutely no truth in this report which I believe has been put out by unscrupulous persons to deceive the public," Tan said.

Tan has reported the matter to the relevant authorities so that appropriate action can be taken and urged the public to take caution on promises of quick riches and not to fall prey to scams.

Tan said this is not the first time his name has been used in similar instances for the purpose of lending credibility to online investment scams.

On June 28 (see below), Tan exposed a dubious startup trading platform called "Bitcoin Formula" which used his name and doctored photos to promote its business.

An article claiming he had invested in and was promoting Bitcoin Formula, together with some photographs, was circulated on social media.

The article was accompanied by a few photographs, one showing Tan allegedly awarding a cheque for RM500,000 to Bitcoin Formula for winning the "Project of the Year" prize in a computer engineering "hackathon" in Kuala Lumpur, and another picture of him apparently speaking about Bitcoin Formula at a social media business summit.

Both pictures were in fact images altered with the use of photo-editing software and had originally been taken by theSun in March 2014 and January last year.

A check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia found that no company by the name of Bitcoin Formula exists.

Credit:  Kevin Deva newsdesk@thesundaily.com

'Bitcoin Formula' exposed

This picture of Tan Sri Vincent Tan speaking at the Social Economic Forum at the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan in the Philippines was doctored to appear as if he was promoting Bitcoin Formula

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya group founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan has blown the whistle on a dubious startup trading platform called "Bitcoin Formula", which has used his name and doctored photos to promote its business.

It came to Tan's attention that an article claiming he had invested in and was promoting Bitcoin Formula, together with some photographs, was being circulated on social media after a friend who saw it asked him if it would indeed be a good investment.

"How can it be a good investment when the operators have to resort to such dishonest ways like using my name in fake reports and doctored photographs to promote their business?" he said.

"I think anyone who invests in such a shady business will surely lose their money," said Tan, who urged the public not to be deceived by such posts on social media.

The article about the company, that purports to promote blockchain and crypto technologies, claimed Tan had donated RM500,000 to Bitcoin Formula, a supposed financial startup by young computer engineers developing an efficient trading platform.

The article was accompanied by a few photographs, one showing Tan allegedly awarding a cheque for RM500,000 to Bitcoin Formula for winning the "Project of the Year" prize in a computer engineering "hackathon" in Kuala Lumpur, and another picture of him apparently speaking about Bitcoin Formula at a social business summit.

Both pictures were in fact images altered with the use of photo-editing software, and had originally been taken by theSun in March 2014 and January last year.

The cheque presentation photo was actually of Tan presenting a RM500,000 award to representatives of Dharma Master Cheng Yen of the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation after she was named Better Malaysia Foundation's Personality of the Year in 2015.

The other image was taken when Tan was speaking at the Social Economic Forum that was held at the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan, in the Philippines.

A check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia found that no company by the name of Bitcoin Formula exists.

Tan is apparently the latest prominent person whose name had been used by get-rich-quick scheme operators to scam unsuspecting people, and prominent tycoons like AirAsia founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and "Sugar King" Robert Kuok were among people whose names have been used by these scammers.

Tan also dismissed a Facebook article claiming that he will be donating RM525 million to Tabung Harapan Malaysia.

"There is absolutely no truth to either of these reports, that I believe have been put out by unscrupulous persons to deceive the public. I hope the public do not get fooled by these fake reports," he added.

Credit:   Amar Shah Mohsen newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Related:   

Crypto Formula | Read The Review Very Carefully | CyberMentors.org.uk‎

>> Visit Trusted Software <<

>> Visit Trusted Software <<

Bitcoins Formula Review - Promising Program Earns More Bitcoin ...

 

Related post:

Blockchain Festival & Conference Week, Kuala Lumpur 26~27 Sept 2018

BLOCFEST www.blocfest.asia SOUTHEAST ASIA’S INTERNATIONAL BLOCKCHAIN EVENT Blockchain and beyond Brothers Hway (left) and Tze-...

Telling fact from fiction, fake news

Easy target: Fake news is a big problem here because many of us are too impressionable when it comes to news on the Internet.

HARDLY a day passes without someone sharing a video with me. No one bothers to check, not for a minute, if this could be nothing more than a fake video gone viral. Yet, amazingly, they are quick to forward such things to me.

And that doesn’t even include the unsolicited political messages, through which senders expect their receivers to echo their political enthusiasm.

More alarmingly, residents chat groups on uncollected rubbish or poor maintenance, suddenly see political messages popping up in them. Even prayer and old classmates chat groups aren’t spared, my goodness.

Blame it on what is often dubbed “silly season”, leading up to the general election, but don’t test our patience by diverting our attention to something trivial. It is downright irritating and insulting. And who cares about these politicians, anyway? Not everything in life is about politics, after all.

On Friday, a video went viral on what looked like a gun fight between the police and a notorious gang in Kuala Lumpur.

Some truth-seekers took the trouble to check with the media, but most would have despatched it to their friends in no time at all.

As trained journalists, we obviously scrutinised the video to look for give-aways. It doesn’t take a detective to pick out the holes, but then, there are many gullible Malaysians.

For one, the tiny yellow taxis in the video don’t exist in KL. There is no such building with that staircase structure in the capital, either, and there was a camera crew in plain view running around filming the action scenes, clearly indicating a movie set.

Most of the cars in the video aren’t even models we regularly see in Malaysia, and there was also a guy who ran by wearing what appeared to be heavy clothing.

On Thursday night, it got even sillier.Leaping out of the world wide web was a video of what’s been made to look like a Malaysian student being bullied in a classroom.

The comments by some racist airheads really infuriated me. With the victim appearing Chinese, the bully possibly Malay – he looked Indian to me – it became fertile ground to sow the seeds of hate.

At no point did it occur to them that this video could have come from Singapore. It didn’t even cross their minds that Malaysian students no longer wear uniforms entirely in white. The last time students were decked completely in white was probably in 1979 – during my time as a student. And desks and chairs in green? In our schools?

The Education Ministry has come out to confirm that the incident in that widely-shared video happened in Singapore on Feb 9.

Describing the footage as a “severe case of bullying”, Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan urged netizens to stop spreading the clip.

“This happened at Westwood Secondary School in Singapore. Please don’t spread this video and claim that it happened in Malaysia.

“Before forwarding anything, it would be wise to authenticate its veracity to avoid confusion and misinformation,” he added.

A group of students from Westwood Secondary School were filmed punching, kicking and throwing chairs at a classmate in a video that then went viral, reported Singapore’s The Straits Times on Feb 18.

In the video posted on Facebook page Fabrications About Singapore on Feb 15, a student can be heard egging his friends on to “teach” one of their classmates a lesson.

Two students were captured throwing chairs at a boy seated at his table in a classroom while on his mobile phone. The boy is stunned when a chair hits his head.

A student then slaps the boy, before throwing a series of punches and kicks at him.

Then, the student overturns the boy’s chair, shoves him to the floor and continues to pummel him.

Then, there was the fake sex video, which purportedly featured national badminton hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei as a “movie star”.

I meet my fellow Penangite regularly, and I can safely say that I have observed him up close and personal.

I can tell that Lee is much more muscular than that skinny, presumably, porno actor in the video, and the hairstyle doesn’t even match our sports idol’s.

Lee has done right by making a police report, and let’s hope the police, with the help of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, swiftly track down the culprits of this vicious smear campaign.

It’s obvious that some people not only want to discredit the three-time Olympic silver medallist but are looking for maximum mayhem by aligning their dubious act to coincide with the release of his feature length biopic Lee Chong Wei: Rise of the Legend next month.

And that’s far from the end of the tall tales. There’s also this pathetic fake news about rejected Musang King durians from China – timed to perfection to be “reported” right before the International Durian festival in Bentong.

The Internet burned with a doctored picture depicting a mountain of the “rejected” fruits, which were said to have been exposed to extremely high levels of insecticide.

Those who shared that piece of poor journalism – either because they were sincerely concerned, genuinely ignorant or politically motivated – didn’t know, or cared to find out that Malaysia doesn’t export durians in its original fruit form but rather, as frozen pulp in packages.

And for sure, the Chinese wouldn’t have wanted to bear the freight charge to return these bad durians to Malaysia. The life span of our durian is only a day or two. How could it have been stacked up like that in the picture?

Durian lovers who inspected the picture could tell they were not Musang King, but instead, something of Thai origin.

With the general election looming, the recycled rumours of Bangladeshi phantom voters arriving by the planeloads at KLIA2 have resurfaced. Even an opposition state assemblyman, in her Chinese New Year video criticising the #UndiRosak activists, cheekily added that “even the Bangladeshis want to vote.” Can you picture 40,000 of them milling at our airport?

Although not a shred of evidence has come to light to back up the incredulous claim, the myth continues to be perpetuated, and it’s a given it will be rinsed and repeated. Perhaps it’ll be the Nepalese or Rohingya this time?

While the ordinary Malaysian can be forgiven for being easily swayed, it’s an entirely different story when journalists find themselves duped, or God forbid, spreading the “news”.

In the 2013 general election, a prominent TV presenter posted on his Facebook page claiming a blackout occurred at the Bentong counting centre, which led to the Barisan Nasional winning the parliamentary seat, slyly implying the coalition cheated during the result tabulation.

He got his network into hot water when he returned to his FB profile to say, “when my child is born, I will ask him to write an essay with the title ‘The Blackout Night’. The beginning of the essay would be on May 5, 2013, there was a stiff fight in the Bentong seat. Someone had said that he would cut his ears if it is lost, and then the counting process started, blackout ...”

To credit MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s opponent, DAP challenger Wong Tack denied the rumours. But let’s hope this presenter has since matured, and perhaps, become more cynical as a journalist or presenter, at least.

The most frequent fake news that sparks to life every few weeks would be the dates of the Parliament’s dissolution and polling.

Interestingly, in the case of the polling date “report”, it involved the Prime Minister having an audience with the King, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Speaker.

It’s all very simple, really – the PM doesn’t need anyone tagging along, and after meeting the King, he surely can’t be fixing a date since that job belongs to the Election Commission.

A news portal reported that fake news is a big problem here because many of us are too impressionable when it comes to news on the Internet.

The Asian Correspondent reported: “Without questioning the veracity of certain claims and announcements, it seems that oftentimes, anything resembling a news story – whether shared on social media or via mobile messaging apps – is swallowed wholesale.

“Let’s look at how WhatsApp has become a popular platform to spread news. How many of you have received forwarded messages that clearly resemble fake news and could have easily been dismissed as such? I’m sure so many have, and speaking from experience, it definitely gets frustrating.

“The worst part is that when you question the person who unwittingly forwarded the news, he or she would say, ‘I don’t know if it’s true or not. I received it from someone else, so, I’m just forwarding.’”

This has happened continually because no one is punished for their unscrupulous and reckless deeds, even if their actions lead to undesirable consequences amounting to racial tension, riots and even death.

And the campaigning hasn’t even begun! So, let’s put on our thinking caps and brace for the inevitable soon – a deluge of fake news.

On the beat Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.


Related Links:

 The tax season cometh ... and so will the scammers - Nation

 

 Going all out on e-Filing digital security

Related Posts:

Beware of fake news! Traditional media still the best and credible, says experts 

 

Fake news, piracy and digital duopoly of Google and Facebook

 

How to Spot Fake News?

 

All in a day's words in politics 

 

US trains activists to evade security, American befuddling, fake eggs

 

 YBs, please lend us your ears 

 

Money games, Earn money nothing can replace the old-fashioned hard-work, honesty; learn Jack Ma's way

 

Malaysian Public varsities, companies, GLC execs also recipients of EBA fake awards

 

Fake Awards Scam for Penang Island City Council, Seberang Perai Municipal Council ! 

Be wary of these four types of financial predators

REGRETTABLY Malaysia seems to be fertile ground for all sorts of scammers. Just yesterday I received a text message from Bank Negara Malaysia, warning me not to open emails that claim they are from BNM and ask for payment verification.

The newspapers report every month on hundreds of Malaysians losing millions of Ringgit to all sorts of financial predators.

These are the four types of financial predators you should be aware of.

Financial predators that are selling you something amazing (for them). Some financial predators are trying to sell you something and only later you find out that the item is not the best use of your money at all.

Watch out for these financial predators:

* The pyramid scheme operator who is selling you products which sound expensive and technologically sophisticated, but are worthless.

* The shop owner, who recommends expensive or high margin products, which turn out to be unpopular or old products to increase his profit or clear his inventory.

* The property agent, who pushes you to purchase a house despite knowing that there is a price correction coming. He just cares about getting his commission.

* Financial predators that want to make you rich (but make you poor instead).

Other financial predators are not selling you a product, but a dream: to be rich one day. You would be amazed to find out how much people are willing to spend in their pursuit of this dream. You can get rich in many ways, but not nearly as many, as ways in which you can get scammed.

For instance, consider:

*The investor or trader that is selling you currency, gold, stock or property with the promise of extremely high returns. Sometimes they don’t sell the assets, but a "secret" formula or (software) tool to always make a winning trade. Don’t fall for it!

* The prince, minister, lottery winner, retired general and other personalities which will reward you with a slice of their wealth. If first you pay some legal / custom fees.

* The fake lottery / contest predator, that tricks you into thinking you won a sizeable sum of money. You just need to pay up some administration fees before you can redeem your prize.

* The scratch & win agent and casino operator. “The house always wins.” You will bring more to the casino operator than he will give back.

* The (soccer) bookie, who extends upfront credit for you to place more bets and win back your losses. But if you keep losing, his friendly helpfulness will quickly vanish.

Financial predators that "just" want to help you (into bigger problems)

Some financial predators pretend they just want to help you – some may even say they have nothing to gain from it. Be aware of these sophists!

* The financial planner that gets more commission the more financial products you buy. Never mind whether you really need all that insurance and other financial products.

* The loan shark that will give you better rates or quicker disbursement than the bank, but asks much higher interest rates in return.

* The salesman that is selling you expensive insurance on top of your car / phone etc that already have guarantee from the manufacturer.

* The car dealerships and stores who encourage you to take their own (more expensive) financing plans instead of your bank's instalment plans.

* The financial predator that is in love with you (or is it your money)?

* And then finally, the financial predator that lures you with dreams of romance. This one is the saddest of all, because doesn’t everyone deserve more genuine love in their life?

And isn’t it heart-breaking to see how scammers toy with people’s strongest desires, just for monetary gains?

Be aware for online girlfriends and boyfriends that contact you out of nowhere. Don’t be surprised when you find scammers that try to deceive you with romantic talk in the darkest of alleyways on the Internet (or just around the corner on Facebook and other social media apps).

Especially be wary if you have never seen your new love in real life or (s)he is a foreigner and needs your money in order to pay for visa or flights or to pay off local debts before (s)he is allowed to leave.

As you can tell, Malaysia and the world are full of financial predators. Don’t fall prey to them and become their lunch.

By Mark Reijman The Star/ANN

Mark Reijman is co-founder and managing director of https://www.comparehero.my/dedicated to increasing financial literacy and to help you save time and money by comparing all credit cards, loans and broadband plans in Malaysia. Keen on joining the team as a writer, then email mark@comparehero.my

Release of fraud suspects disgraces Taiwan

http://t.cn/RqKXOaH

• Dialogue  Taiwanese telecom fraudsters

• Parties, media call for justice for telecom fraud victims

• Parties, media call for justice for telecom fraud victims. Political parties and media outlets from Chinese Mainland and Taiwan have denounced a telecom fraud case, and said the suspects must be brought to justice. This is after Taiwan police on Saturday released 20 suspects who were deported from Malaysia....

Malaysia repatriated a group of telecom fraud suspects Friday, including 20 Taiwanese. Taiwan authorities maneuvered to have them sent to Taiwan.

To the surprise of the outsiders, these Taiwanese suspects were released in a few hours after arrival at Taoyuan International Airport.

When Kenya last week sent a batch of telecom fraud suspects to the Chinese mainland, also including Taiwanese, it triggered a public outcry in Taiwan. Pro-independence media and leading figures, including Tsai Ing-wen, protested against the mainland for "illegal abduction." Now Taiwan is showing that it is more lenient to fraud suspects than anywhere in the world.

Taiwan's judicial authorities expressed that the crime was committed in Malaysia and victims were mainlanders. Since they do not hold evidence against these suspects, they have to release them first.

However last week, the same department stated that it was in accordance with international law that Kenya repatriated Taiwan suspects to the mainland, and "only the mainland can hold them in control." Pro-independence forces would not admit the change was a result of pressure they exerted.

To the outside world, protests against the mainland and releasing suspects show the ugly side of Taiwan politics when it is taken hostage by radical public opinion.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is manipulating and coping with populism.

The release of the 20 suspects has disgraced the Taiwanese media and Taiwan's rule of law.

The mainland is clear how the DPP is manipulating public opinion to instigate "anti-China" sentiments. Swayed by such sentiments, Taiwan politics prioritizes stance over facts.

Western democratic politics can easily provide a hotbed for radicalism and extremism. Taiwan and Hong Kong both have demonstrated this tendency.

A judiciary case, which should be fact-oriented, is turned into a political event across the Straits. The suspects even applauded Taiwan for its "human rights" after being released. Should the mainland feel indignant or treat it with disdain?

The key is that the mainland should stick more firmly to its principles, and resolutely resist the rascally demands by Taiwan's twisted politics.

Taiwan's poor performance in handling the suspects is also teaching a lesson to other countries. Malaysia is proved wrong in repatriating the fraud suspects back to Taiwan. Kuala Lumpur should learn from the case and not be tricked by Taiwan in the future.

Taiwan, which is an inseparable part of China, is always eager to prove it is a "country." Taiwan's ingrained sense of inferiority and paranoia have permeated into its politics, resulting in its self-righteous performances, of which Taiwan's public should be aware.- Global Times

Related post:

Taiwan telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Malaysia and Kenya

China urges Taiwan to give fraud suspects "punishment they deserve"   20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan air...