Online con

Beware the online con

By SEREAN LAU and CHRISTINA TAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: It is important for women to check the background of a person they meet over Internet social networking websites to avoid being cheated.

“You need to check the background of the person to know whether the person is genuine or just a sweet talker. Whatever is posted by the man should be vetted thoroughly like calling up a company to see if he really works there,” said Wanita MCA Cupid Space project executor Peggy Lim (pic).

She also cautioned women not to rush into making a commitment.

“You need at least eight months to know a person. There is no need to rush into things,” she added.

“Feelings are a huge emotional trigger and for a woman, it is important to control these feelings when the courtship has only been going on for a short while.”

She said that among the reasons that women were scammed by online Casanovas was due to loneliness and desperation as they were afraid they would not be able to find a companion and accepted “any man who fancies them”

“The essential tools to sustain a relationship are patience and to earn the trust needed,” she said.

In June, a 47-year-old housewife said that she lost her savings and money she borrowed from her family and friends totalling RM1.2mil to a con man that she befriended on the Internet.

The man had claimed to be a Briton.

Meanwhile, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said he received complaints from 18 women on cheating scams with losses amounting to more than RM2.4mil since 2007.

He urged women to be wary of such con men.

Chong said the complaints that he received had a similar modus operandi – the men would get to know the women via Internet and send them expensive gifts before demanding for money.

Chong added that most of the victims were single mothers, divorcees and unmarried women.

“The con men also introduced themselves as businessmen, sons of senior politicians and professionals like engineers,” he said.

Chong said he believed the men involved in the scam were foreigners although some may have had the help of locals.


Related Story:

They virtually fleece the lonely and the desperate

The dark truth about a sweet-talking Casanova

By ONG HAN SEAN
hansean@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: He is neither good looking nor young, but this sweet-talking Casanova has managed to cheat at least seven women of nearly RM400,000.
The 41-year-old Singaporean, known as Dennis Lim, has a habit of preying on women through the social networking website, ahmoi.com.

 

That’s him!: Chong and Qi Qi checking out a picture of Lim at the department chief’s office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

 

One of his victims, Qi Qi, lost RM294,662 within the seven months of their “friendship.”

“I was not really attracted to him. He was really aggressive and he made the first move online,” said the 34-year-old businesswoman from Penang, who sought the help of MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong at his office yesterday.

She said Lim claimed to be a factory manager and knew how to take advantage of her weakness.
“He used sob stories to get my sympathy.

“For instance, he claimed his stepmother was admitted into ICU; that his ex-boss had delayed his business reimbursements and that he had met with a road accident before Chinese New Year.

“I felt sorry for him and wanted to help,” she said, adding that she allowed Lim to use her credit cards when he visited her in Penang in October last year.

Qi Qi started getting suspicious in March and lodged two police reports in Penang and another two in Singapore.

She later traced Lim’s caller history from a sub-line she started for him, and found six other women in Malaysia whom Lim had cheated for money and sex.

“His modus operandi is to get acquainted with lonely, single women online and then slowly work his way into their pockets with his sob stories,” Qi Qi said, adding that the victims had refused to make police reports against Lim.

Chong urged the other victims to come forward so that he could assist them.
“I will take this case to the Malaysian Interpol and relevant authorities,” he said.

He also reminded women to be wary of meeting strangers online.

Go for PSD scholarship

AMPANG: Those who have yet to apply for a Public Service Department scholarship despite scoring 9A+ or more in their SPM examination will not be left out, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Deputy Prime Minister said these students could still apply for it, in view of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s assurance that all students who scored 9A+ or better would be granted PSD scholarships for local or overseas studies irrespective of race.

“They can come forward and we will take them into account,” he told reporters yesterday after opening the Ampang Umno division meeting here.

Najib, who made the announcement on Saturday, had described the move as “historical”.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said it showed that the Government had no qualms rewarding students based on meritocracy, adding that it would not be a problem to source for the additional funding.

“The Prime Minister’s statement is a happy one for all sides,” he said, adding that a big portion of those in the list announced by the PSD had already received their scholarship.

The Government had previously said that it might withdraw PSD scholarships for overseas studies gradually. That plan drew criticism from certain quarters. 

All top scorers to get PSD grants

KUALA LUMPUR: All students who score 9A+ or more will now receive Public Service Department scholarship regardless of their race, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“We have achieved one thing that we have never done in history. Every student who scores 9A+, irrespective of his or her ethnic background, will get a scholarship from the department.

“It doesn’t matter if they are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Iban or others. If they score 9A+, they will get the scholarship whether for local or overseas studies.

“This is to show that 1Malaysia is not just a slogan,” he said when opening the MIC annual general assembly at Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.

His announcement received thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the hundreds of MIC delegates attending the assembly.

Others present included MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon

Najib also said 2,304 of 2,499 Indian students who qualified for entry into public universities were given places. A total of 4,541 Indian students applied to enter public universities this year.

“This is a clear manifestation of the Government’s effort to help the Indian community,” he said.
Students are now graded according to A+, A, A-, B+, B, C+, C, D, E and G. Previously, the grades were from 1A to 9G.

In March, Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom explained that the highest possible grade under this system was an A+ which indicates a score of more than 90% in a subject.

A total of 214 students from government schools and another 41 students, who were either from private schools or private candidates, obtained A+ in all subjects taken.

A total of 1,500 scholarships have been awarded to top SPM scorers under the PSD’s Overseas Degree Programme to pursue their studies at universities abroad this year.

MCA vice-president: 9A+ grants in line with 1Malaysia

Tue, Jul 13, 2010 The Star/Asia News Network

KUALA LUMPUR: The announcement that Public Service Department scholarships will be awarded to all students who score 9A+ or higher regardless of their race is in line with the 1Malaysia concept, said MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen. She said such a move was unprecedented in the country?s history and a positive move forward for all Malaysians. This decision means that those who qualify  will enjoy the scholarships. This is something that has never been done before in our history. ?It shows that the 1Malaysia concept advocated by the Prime Minister is not just a slogan, she said here yesterday. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced, during the MIC general assembly on Saturday that these succesful students would receive PSD scholarships to pursue their studies locally or overseas, regardless of their race. -The Star/Asia News Network

Up Close and Personal with Atul Bhargava - MD Intel M'sia

A rafting trip to the Grand Canyon is what Atul Bhargava hopes to do when he turns 50. One has happened (he turned 50 recently) but the other, not quite – yet.

But that’s really by choice. Atul is not ready to visit the Grand Canyon yet but hopes to do it next year with his family.

This year there are too many things happening – his daughter has exams and soon after will head to the Oregon Health and Science University in the United States for an internship. As such, Atul would rather wait another year to accomplish his grand trip.

Even so, turning 50 was no less auspicious. His sister, niece and her husband arrived from India to celebrate the day with him. “To me, family comes first,” says the managing director of Intel Malaysia, who has been in the country for some eight years.

A typical Sunday in the life of Atul involves playing tennis with his two daughters and looking forward to dinner – his wife’s cooking.

Family man

He is clearly a family man. “My youngest daughter recently went for a trip to Sabah and I was the only male parent who signed up to go with her. It was a parent/child programme. In fact I missed an important business meeting in Costa Rica to be with her.

“My daughter spoke to my boss and asked if I could go to Sabah with the children and people asked me if it was the right decision. On hindsight, a lot of people would not remember if I was present at the meeting but my daughter will remember that I was with her in Sabah. That’s the difference the trip made to her,” he says.

Atul hails from Benares in India. It is a holy city and famous for saris. But he did not stay long enough to enjoy the colours of Benares.

He studied in Dehli and later moved to Kanpur to study engineering. As soon as he finished, Atul, like many other young aspiring boys from India, applied to go to the United States.

He got it and the next thing he knew he arrived in the land of milk and honey, with only US$1,000 and two luggage bags.

He enrolled into Clemson University for a Masters programme. To support himself, he worked part time, correcting exam papers and doing research.

Being used to the Indian style of marking papers, he had to loosen up his marking style.

In the US, the approach to creativity and innovation and the process taught him to look at “multiple view points” and how to apply and learn instead of purely learning.

He got paid US$600 a month, which though a meagre amount, kept him going till he finished his Masters. “You just learn to budget and prioritise,” he says.

After finishing his Masters, he stayed back in the US and joined Intel. But after a while, he yearned to return to his homeland.

He joined a small semiconductor company in India with the intent of learning more about the business.
Sometime around this point, at the age of 27, he got married to an electrical engineering graduate.

“It was an arranged marriage but in the US, I said it was a blind date as people there were surprised to hear about arranged marriages,” he says. Soon after he called his ex-boss at Intel to inquire if he could rejoin the company. Knowing his expertise, he was hired via the phone. He landed back in the US but this time not alone – he was accompanied by his wife.

She was employed by Intel as well but in a different department. “The good thing is that when we moved, Intel made sure that both spouses move together and that makes it easy for us. They are supportive and it is a great place to work,” he says.

But Atul had bigger dreams and ambitions and wanted to lead and not be led. He told his boss that he wanted to go back to school to continue his studies. Again, it helped as Intel believes in nurturing talent. So lucky for him, he got paid while studying.

That lifted him professionally and job offers came his way but he would not move as the “kind of freedom and privileges” he got at Intel kept him with the giant chip maker.

Turning point

At 37, it marked the turning point of his career. At Intel there is a mentor system where people can call upon their mentors to discuss their career path. “It is good to have a few mentors,” he says.

His mentor advised him that if he were to “go for his next dream he needed to improve in certain areas” and that gave him an idea of the direction he needed take.

“I believe you have to have passion in your work. That’s important. Love your work and you can achieve a lot in your life,” says Atul.

That’s what he tries to inculcate in his eldest daughter, who is deciding whether to study medicine or something else.

This happens to be Atul’s second posting to Malaysia. His first was in 1989. “At some point in our lives we will go back to the US but this (Malaysia) country has a mix of east and west, the food is great, the environment is great, working conditions are good and my children also like it here,” he says.

His work style is to allow everyone to be creative and be leaders at what they do. Intel has various programmes where it works with schools by introducing technology and provides research grants.

To have a knowledge- and innovative-based society, Atul believes that involvement has to begin from the early years and that is why Intel is providing computer schemes to some schools.

Atul has travelled extensively and has been to 35 countries. Apart from the Grand Canyon, the other things on his to-do-list include an African safari in Tanzania because of its unmatched wildlife.

By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my