Businessmen cheated of RM300,000 in land scam

BATU PAHAT (March 11): Eight victims, mostly businessmen, discovered they had been cheated of more than RM300,000 in total over a land scam.

The eight claimed they had paid between RM20,000 and RM130,000 for the agricultural parcels ranging between 2.2ha and 3.2ha.

They  lodged a police report when they discovered the plots they had leased were already occupied by others and the documents they (the victims) signed were fake, reported The Star.

The graft has been traced to a collusion of three long-time colleagues working in the same district land office.

Taking advantage of the loopholes within the system, coupled with access to the land database, they identified idle land in their district. Then, they prepared counterfeit documents and offered them to clients as seized land available for agricultural lease.

The case has been classified under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Meanwhile, it is learnt the state land office has reassigned the three men to desk duty, out of the district.