KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Eighty victims of an investment scam have urged police to take immediate action against a Kedah-based company for allegedly cheating them of more RM11 million.

Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said the victims, mostly from Muar, Johor; Perlis and Kedah had lodged police reports against the company since March this year but no action had been taken yet.

He said the company, which had branches in several states including Johor, Melaka, Kedah and Perlis, offered real estate leasing programmes to investors with attractive dividends over a 45-day period.

"In the initial stages, the company paid the promised dividends but after the victims had increased their investments, the company started to avoid them and skip paying the profits. In fact, its headquarters in Kedah and several branches also ceased operations, except in Perlis,” he told Bernama.

The victims today travelled by bus from Muar, Kedah and Perlis to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) headquarters here to submit a letter seeking to be briefed on the latest developments in the case.

Hishamuddin and the victims also held a closed-door meeting with CCID director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, and it was learnt that 15 investigation papers had been opened in the case.

Ramli, when contacted, confirmed receiving more than 80 reports on the case involving losses running into millions.

A construction company engineer in Kedah, who wants to be known only as Razak, 45, said he lost all his Sijil Simpanan Premium (SPP) and Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) savings totalling RM546,000 after being scammed by the company.

Razak said he fell for the scam after being told he could reap huge gains by investing with the company, which offered a RM540 dividend over a 45-day period for an investment lot worth RM3,600.

"After being convinced, I withdrew all my ASB and SPP savings and topped up the investments to 160 lots involving a total of about RM546,000 in October 2020, before the company stopped operations,” he said.

Another victim, paddy farmer Mohd Johari Ismail, 45, claimed he lost more than RM20,000 of his savings after investing with the company in 2021 through his nephew, who worked as a marketing agent of the company.

"I went to the company several times to ask for the return of my principal investment but it only gave RM50 to RM100 each time to prevent me from creating a commotion in the office. In fact, they threatened to call the police if I refused to leave,” he said, adding that he hoped to get back his money to support his three school-going children. — Bernama