SEREMBAN: A couple lost RM30,000 to a stranger who promised to give them half of the money she claimed to have won if they could pay the processing fee to collect the prize.

       The stranger had claimed to have won RM500,000 in a four-digit draw.

       State Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Supt Aibee Ab Ghani said the 69-year-old man and his 64-year-old wife were at a car park in Bahau on April 28 when a woman approached them and showed them a four-digit winning ticket.

       "The woman then told the couple that she has to pay a processing fee before she could claim the RM500,000," he said.

       "The suspect said since she did not have the money, she was prepared to split the winnings with them if they were willing to come up with the processing fee," he added in a statement.

       Supt Aibee said the suspect then took the couple in her car and drove to a bank in Kuala Pilah.

       The couple then withdrew RM25,000 from the bank and handed the money to the victim.

       The suspect then asked the couple for another RM5,000 which the couple withdrew from the ATM.

       "The couple were then driven back to Bahau and asked to wait in a bank while the suspect went to claim the 'winnings'. They only realised they had been duped when the woman failed to show up after some time," he said.

       Supt Aibee said the case is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating which carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.