KEPALA BATAS, Jan 31 — A teacher lost RM300,000 after being cheated by a love scam syndicate recently.

Seberang Prai Utara (SPU) district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the single woman, aged 57, alleged that she had been cheated after engaging in a relationship with a man claiming to be an American through Facebook.

"After almost a month into the relationship, the suspect started to relate a sad story to gain the victim’s sympathy and she finally agreed to help him by loaning him money,” he said in a statement today.

He said the woman transferred her money in stages, from mid-October till December last year, involving 49 transactions into 14 different local bank accounts in stages to help her boyfriend.

Noorzainy said throughout the period, the victim transferred RM300,000 to the man and only realised she was cheated when the suspect continued to ask her for more money although she had loaned so much to him.

He said further investigations are being conducted, including tracking down the owners of the accounts used by the suspect, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. — Bernama