Luxury resort bungalow, hotel rooms turned into scam bases; 29 foreigners held

A LUXURY bungalow in a resort and four hotel rooms in Melaka were allegedly used as bases for separate online scam operations targeting victims in Vietnam and China before police arrested 29 foreign nationals in two raids.

Melaka Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Halim Abas said 15 men, including 14 Vietnamese nationals and one Chinese national, were detained during a raid on the bungalow at about 3pm yesterday.

The suspects, aged between 21 and 40, allegedly operated a call centre offering fraudulent loans and conducting love scams by posing as customer service personnel to identify and contact potential victims in Vietnam.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the operation had been running since early this month.

Police seized 11 sets of computers, 24 mobile phones, remote controls, translation devices and 15 passports, with the items valued at an estimated RM43,400.

Halim said each suspect was believed to have been paid about RM2,500 to carry out the activities.

All 15 were remanded for four days to assist investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

In a separate operation on Tuesday, police arrested 14 Chinese nationals in four hotel rooms in the Melaka Raya area suspected of serving as a base for an online investment scam.

The group comprised 11 men and three women aged between 21 and 55. The syndicate is believed to have been operating since mid-September, targeting Chinese nationals, with each suspect allegedly receiving RM3,000.

Among the items seized were 28 mobile phones, four laptops, a tablet, translation devices, 96 prepaid SIM cards and RM6,400 in cash. The total value of the seized items was estimated at RM47,500.

The 14 suspects were remanded for four days from yesterday to assist investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

Halim urged the public to remain alert to calls from unknown individuals, particularly those seeking personal or banking information or instructing recipients to make financial transactions. - October 22, 2026