SHAH ALAM, July 25 — Police arrested two men in Kajang on July 22, including a Taiwanese citizen, for duping Malaysians to work as call-centre operators for a scam syndicate that operates abroad.

Selangor deputy police chief Datuk S. Sasikala Devi said acting on information, they raided a two-storey terrace house in Taman Setia Impian, Kajang, near here at 6.30pm which led to the arrest of the two suspects, aged 35 and 40.

"As a result of interrogation, the Taiwanese had entered the country legally as a tourist last April before recruiting a local man to transport the call operators they recruited to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA),” she said at a press conference in Selangor contingent police headquarters today.

Sasikala Devi said the suspect would receive a commission of USD1,000 (RM4,455.50) for each local recruited from an international syndicate that runs a scam call centre and gambling hub and which pays a high commission to local agents who can recruit workers for it.

She said the scam placed job advertisements on social media to lure local citizens keen on securing jobs abroad.

"Every interested local must have a valid passport before being sent to the scam syndicate in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Myanmar,” she added.

Sasikala Devi said the Taiwanese male suspect manages the process of obtaining a Covid-19 health certificate and flight ticket through a travel agency in Taiwan.

Sasikala Devi said the raid party confiscated six mobile phones, 14 Malaysian passports, 10 of which belonged to women and four men aged 19 to 40; Covid-19 inspection forms; 19 visa approval forms to Myanmar; seven visas to Dubai in the name of different individuals.

Some of them were scheduled to leave for Myanmar at the end of July, she added.

"Investigations are ongoing to identify the number and identity of local citizens who have gone abroad. The two suspects have been remanded for four days until tomorrow with the case being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” she said. — Bernama