While people are dying by the droves from the COVID-19, there are still irresponsible parties out there to make quick bucks from the pandemic.

One of them is a 45-year-old conman from Johor who garnered about RM91,000 in donations from the public after lying that he had lost 14 family members to COVID-19.

Harian Metro reported Kota Tinggi police chief Superintendent Hussin Zamora saying that the suspect, a contract worker with a local oil and gas giant, was detained on Saturday when turned up at a police station to lodge a police report to "defend himself" against accusations lobbed against him.

The petroleum giant has also since issued a statement confirming the issue and disassociating itself with the man's irresponsible act.

According to messages which had gone viral on WhatsApp and Facebook, the man had claimed that he had fallen into hard times after losing 14 of his family members to the coronavirus from June to September this year.

He had claimed that among those who died include his wife and eight children, as well as his mother, sister and brother in law, and their two children.

The man had then attached his account number in his post, asking for wellwishers to channel money to ease his burden.

According to the police, the suspect is being investigated for cheating and could be jailed for up to 10 years, and subjected to a fine and lashes of the rotan, upon conviction.

As of yesterday, a total of 1.84 million in the country have been infected by the coronavirus, while 18,219 people have died from it.


Source: Harian Metro
Photo source: Astro Awani