‘Datuk’ cheats housebuyer out of RM60,000, sentenced to jail

SEREMBAN (September 5): A woman who claimed to be a Datuk, advertised services of building affordable homes on Facebook, and defrauded one man of RM60,000, has been sentenced to 12 months in jail. 

According to The Star, Siti Norbahiyah Yahya, 43, advertised on Facebook that her company Juta Kelulut Global Sdn Bhd built affordable homes for landowners.

Responding to the ad which he saw  on May 5, 2016, Mohd Nazmi Nazer, 33, later met Siti Norbahiyah at her office in Kuala Lumpur.

They entered an agreement on June 24, and Mohd Nazmi paid Siti RM60,000.

Six months after the agreement, Mohd Nazmi, noting the company had failed to start work, asked for a refund.

Siti Norbahiyah agreed, saying that RM3,000 would be deducted for survey work carried out on Mohd Nazmi’s property. She issued him three cheques, on March 31, April 30 and May 31 last year. The first was for RM15,000 while the second and third cheques were for RM17,500 each.

Mohd Nazmi was rendered unable to cash the cheques as Siti Norbahiyah called the bank, in order to stop payment.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating Mohd Nazmi at the magistrate’s court.

The daily reports that Magistrate Mahyun Yusof has ordered the accused to serve 11 months in jail for the first offence and 12 months each for the second and third offences. The sentences are to be served concurrently.