MELAKA: A scam involving the sale of diapers prompted police here to reopen a cold case dating back to 2016, with transactions totalling some RM900,000, ultimately leading to the arrest of a fugitive brother and sister.

       Investigation into the case resumed after state commercial crimes chief Supt E. Sundra Rajan was curious how the siblings managed to cheat victims through the sale of a baby product.

       “I was auditing old commercial crime files before discovering that even diapers can be used to cheat people.

       “So we decided to reactivate the probe and following this, managed to trace the fraudsters who have been at large over the past six years despite dozens of police reports lodged against them,” he said in an interview.

       Supt Sundra said the tactic used by the siblings was to offer branded baby diapers below the market price to sales agents before collecting a certain sum as deposit for bulk sales from interested buyers.

       “We believe the siblings have cheated 25 victims in Melaka and fled once they had collected a big sum in deposit payments back in 2016,” he said.

       Earlier in a press conference, state police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said the siblings, in their 30s, were arrested while holidaying at a homestay in Ayer Keroh last Sunday.

       He said police managed to confiscate three mobile phones and a badge of a political party logo with the name of one of the suspects, engraved as a Datuk, that is believed to be fake.

       DCP Abdul Majid said the siblings were suspected to be involved in 75 cheating cases from 2005 to 2017 nationwide, involving losses worth RM3.9mil.

       “The case involving the sale of diapers was reported in Melaka in 2016 in which several sales agents were cheated,” he added.

       DCP Abdul Majid said the suspects were also involved in other cheating cases, including sales of motorcycle parts, laptops and holiday packages.

       “Initial investigations showed the suspects offered and promoted the products using social media platforms.

       “After cheating their victims, the suspects would move from one place to another,” he added.