during a press conference held together with MCA Public Service and Complaints Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Michael Chong in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Foreign maid duped out of RM38,000 by 'Datuk Seri' New Straits Times MOHD AZAM SHAH YAACOB New Straits Times28 December 2017 KUALA LUMPUR: A Filipina maid here was cheated of RM38,000 by a “Datuk Seri” who had offered her visa processing and work permit services. Mercy Belmonte Sison, 44, said she made the payment to expedite the process of obtaining visas and work permits for a relative and four of her friends who are now living in fear over not having valid travel documents. “The ‘Datuk Seri’ is from Perak and he is in his 50s. I (found out about him) through a Grabcar driver in May last year. “I was deceived by his title, as ‘Datuk Seri’ is usually held by respectable people in this country,” Mercy said. “I made several payments (to him) totalling RM37,872 for the process since January this year, and I also handed him a passport of my friend’s,” she added during a press conference held together with MCA Public Service and Complaints Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Michael Chong in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. After the payment was made, the Datuk Seri started stalling and come up with excuses, saying that the visas and work permits could not be processed as the officers in charge were on leave. "After many excuses, I started to feel that something was amiss and lodged a complaint at the MCA Complaints Bureau and filed a police report. "My aim is to get my friend’s passport back. I do not expect to get the money back, as I am sure it has been used by him,” Mercy said. Meanwhile, Chong said that the Datuk Seri is giving the excuse that he is trying to solve the issue. "The first time, he said he was suffering from a stroke. The second time, he told me he has cancer, and the third time he said he was not feeling well. "So, we believe the man is a scammer and we are trying to bring him to justice," he said. Chong said that throughout 2017, he received reports of more than 50 cases of fraud involving an undercover syndicate offering visa processing and work permits for foreigners from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and India. He said that total losses for this year amount to RM270,000, and believes that the figure is much higher, as there are victims who only lodged police reports, or reported the matter to other complaints bureaus. © New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd