A SENIOR citizen lost his life savings after being duped by two “Datuks” into buying a plot of land for an “unbelievably cheap” price.
Sabri Othman, 70, was among 150 individuals who lost RM9 million to a dubious real estate company that purportedly sold plots of land in Hulu Langat and Gombak.
Sabri, who paid RM72,000 for two lots measuring 3,000 sq ft in 2012, said he realised something was amiss when the real estate company went bankrupt last year and he did not receive any grants from the Land Office.
Sabri said he had spent nearly all of his Employees Provident Fund savings on the purchase.
“I was desperate because I wanted my sons to have their own homes. The price for one lot was very cheap, considering it was close to the city,” the retiree said, during a press conference held by the Muslim Consumers’ Association of Malaysia (PPIM) here yesterday.
“The realtor’s advertisements looked convincing and I decided to go for it,” he added.
Sabri expressed hope that he would get his money back, and that the two Datuks would be prevented from cheating other people.
Several victims said they put their life savings into the venture, while others said they had borrowed money to pay for the lots.
They said the authorities had yet to take action despite reports being lodged against the Datuks.
“We want to stop them from cheating the people. They are getting richer by the day.
“We need to put a stop to this,” said PPIM special action unit director Yusuf Azmi.
“These victims dreamed of owning their own homes. Now they are left with nothing. We want to help them get their money back and put a stop to scams like this,” he added.
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