The Star, 16/04/12, By AUSTIN CAMOENS and SHAUN HO
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PETALING JAYA: Before, there was only the risk of losing money or ending up with a broken heart to glib-tongued swindlers.

Now, Malaysians have to be on the lookout for deadly con men pretending to be mediums to gain the trust of unsuspecting victims before robbing and even killing them.

A recent triple murder in Taman Sri Ramal, Kajang, has highlighted the existence of such vile fraudsters.

A medium who claimed he could mend family disputes through a ritual, poisoned them with milk laced with weedkiller in the wee hours of April 1.

The deceased: (From left) Rajeswary, Manivaran and Sakunthala.

He fled the house after stealing their jewellery and valuables and setting a gas cylinder on fire in the kitchen.

K. Rajeswary, 28, died in hospital on April 4 while her brother Manivaran, 33, died four days later. Their mother M. Sakunthala, 63, died on Saturday.

Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said although deaths were rare in cases involving con men, many other cases, however, go unreported.

“People should be wary and be extra cautious when seeking alternate solutions to problems, including family disputes and medical ailments,” he said.

He said in most cases, the public seek these people out of desperation.

As con men look for ways to manipulate strengths and weaknesses, they would first work on gaining trust.

“The eventual victims are easily duped because they are usually in a state of distress. The con men prey on their desperation to get what they want,” he said.

Devastated: M. Karuppanan, 65, and his eldest son Sargunan (left) at the Serdang Hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, the Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said Malaysians have been swindled of more than RM32mil through scams between January and June last year.

Besides Internet fraud, the con tricks also include parcel scams (victims are told that he or she had received parcels with expensive gifts, jewellery or cash, but the packages are detained by Customs and payment is sought for the release), Macau scams (con men claiming to be police or bank officers duping the victim is being investigated and that he or she has to surrender money into an account to verify that it was not gained illegally).

“A total of 454 Macau scam cases were reported amounting to losses of over RM10.6mil while 472 parcel scam cases were also reported with losses of over RM10mil as well within the same period,” Comm Syed Ismail said.

Monday April 16, 2012

PETALING JAYA: Bogus mediums and holy men prey on those who do not have a proper understanding of religion, says Malaysia Hindu Sangam president R.S. Mohan Shanmugam.

He said if people were armed with knowledge of their religion and its rituals, they would be able to evaluate for themselves if a “holy man” was indeed what he claimed to be.

“Many people seek mediums as an easy way to solve their problems. There are no short cuts in religion and there are proper rituals that must be followed to pray for good fortune or health,” he said.

He said while there were many sides to Hinduism, mediums were uncommon in the six mainstream sectors.

“Mediums and the so-called holy men have become common because of demand.

“Because people do not fully understand their religion, they tend to believe what others say and may end up following a guru without full knowledge of what they are doing.

“That is why we have requested for temples to start religious classes for children. But parents must also learn and guide their children,” he said.

MCA Public Service and Complaints Department chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong said that although he frequently handled cases of bogus holy men and fake mediums, he was concerned by the deadly case in Taman Sri Ramal, Kajang.

“I have never heard of incidences where a conman kills his victims. I do not understand how someone can resort to that. Usually, they scare the victims and use psychology to keep them under their spell,” he said.

Chong said the most effective way to discourage such crooks was by naming and shaming them through the media.

“When the conman is highlighted, other victims will come out as well. Some may even seek justice on their own. Very rarely will people defend a crooked medium.

“In some previous cases, police used the Emergency Ordinance to lock them up. Their powers' seem to disappear when they are in jail,” he said.

He urged the public to go through proper avenues such as registered temples to seek divine assistance, adding that there were many such places.