680 Chinese held in Malaysia over online scam targeting WeChat Pay users
- Sophisticated operation in Cyberjaya duped victims in China offering fast returns on investments made via WeChat Pay or Chinese banks
- 8,230 handphones, 174 laptops and 787 computers were seized and about 100 people escaped during ‘biggest raid of the year’
National news agency Bernama described the raid, carried out on Wednesday, as the largest this year. In addition to the 680 Chinese detained, a further 100 people escaped as immigration officers approached the six-storey building thought to house the call centre.
The office had security guards, CCTV cameras and an access card system.
A video online showed people dressed in dark-coloured clothing crawling out of an office window on the first storey and jumping to a grassy patch below.
Another video showed a swarm of people running away from the building and dashing across major roads. Cyberjaya is about 26km from the capital Kuala Lumpur
“During the operation, 680 nationals from China comprising 603 men and 77 women … aged between 19 and 35 were detained when a six-storey building was raided,” Malaysia Immigration Department director general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said on Thursday.