A Malaysian woman has allegedly conspired with her lover to defraud her own family and their friends of RM2.36 million by luring them into supposed investment opportunities backed by his connections with high-ranking officials.
According to China Press, nine people, including her parents and brothers, were among those who suffered losses. The family has now gone public after the woman reportedly became uncontactable in recent days.
The alleged scheme began in 2020, when the youngest daughter of the family, who was previously married, started dating a man identified only by his surname, Chen.
Her 71-year-old mother, Xu Yatao, told China Press that Chen often portrayed himself as wealthy and generous, boasting about his connections with officials and his access to lucrative investment opportunities.
The daughter subsequently urged her mother to invest, claiming such opportunities were rare. Although Xu initially refused, she eventually handed over RM500,000 after repeated persuasion.
The woman and Chen allegedly promised to return the principal with additional interest once the investment generated substantial profits. They later repaid part of the money, but the remainder was never returned.
The pair reportedly blamed cash flow problems and a frozen bank account for their failure to repay the outstanding sum.
Xu also alleged that her daughter had taken her bank card without permission and withdrawn another RM200,000. She only discovered the missing money after receiving a bank notification a few months ago.
The RM500,000 was reportedly Xu’s life savings, while the additional RM200,000 had been set aside to pay her monthly insurance premiums.
The woman’s 50-year-old brother, Peng Niangfu, also claimed he had been cheated out of more than RM360,000 over the years.
In the latest incident, Chen allegedly asked Peng to lend him RM30,000. Suspecting that he might not get the money back, Peng agreed to provide only RM5,000. Chen subsequently disappeared, according to the report.
Other alleged victims included the woman’s late father, another brother who has since died, and an aunt who had intended to use her savings to pay for treatment for an eye condition.
Xu and Peng said Chen had been missing since March, while the woman had become unreachable in recent days. The family also feared she might be preparing to flee after learning that she planned to sell her house.
Xu said the financial losses were not as painful as discovering that her own daughter had allegedly conspired with another person to deceive the family.
She described her daughter as rebellious and competitive from a young age, adding that she had often tried to tolerate their differences to avoid family disputes.
Both Xu and Peng have lodged police reports and urged the pair to return to Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, to explain themselves and settle the outstanding debts.
The family said they remained willing to meet the pair to resolve the matter, but warned that they were prepared to take further action if the debts were not addressed.
