When Chew Jia Yi, 28, found an advertisement selling PlayStation 5 (PS5) for below market price last year, he probably looked at it as a business opportunity.
As an online seller, he could make a substantial profit by reselling the highly desirable game consoles.
He tested the water by ordering five units and was likely excited when he had received them.
After all, because of the low supply, the PS5 is in high demand all over the world.
When he was told that more PS5 was coming, Chew, possibly thinking that it was opportunity knocking again, made several more purchases.
He made payments on 27, 28 and 29 Sept, as well as 10 and 11 Oct.
In total, he had paid RM63,000 to the seller.
However, this time, all he got in return was excuses.
A month later, in early November, Chew and his business partner Chong Pak Leong, 25 went to the person’s home address in Penang but could not find him, reported the Star.
The two then lodged a police report at the Kepala Batas police station.
On 15 Nov, the Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department confirmed that the suspect was detained in Penang and it was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
On 19 Nov, Penang Commercial Crime Investigation Department said investigations found that the 23-year-old suspect was operating alone.
They also confirmed that he used Facebook and Instagram to sell the console and had used his and his mother’s bank account for the online transactions.
Meanwhile, another victim, Pua Yuan Toung, has lodged a report. Those who fell victim to the scam are advised to do the same.
