GEORGE TOWN: A woman in Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas here lost almost half a million ringgit in savings from her Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account after being duped by a syndicate who claimed that they could save her from a death sentence.

Barat Daya district police chief Supt A. A. Anbalagan said the victim, a 53-year-old trader, claimed she received a call from a man who claimed to be a police sergeant from the Negri Sembilan police contingent last December who told her that she had outstanding arrears at a bank and that her name was linked to a drug trafficking syndicate.

The man told her that he could help her solve the matter by making some payments, he said, adding that the woman agreed to do so and deposited a total of RM476,000 in seven transactions in several bank accounts given by the syndicate.

Anbalagan said the woman lodged a police report yesterday after she felt cheated when no one contacted her after she had made the payments. — Bernama