A scam so bizarre.
It all started when Cho, a 53-year-old electrician, met Lo and her husband on Facebook in April last year, and the trio became fast friends.
Cho was married with three children.
Several months later, in August, Lo’s husband told him that he (Cho) and Lo were married in a past life, saying that this was “confirmed” by a medium.
He convinced Cho that they should remarry to break a curse from the past life or there will be dire consequences for the both of them.
So they did so secretly a month later, exchanging vows at Lo’s house in Malacca, without the knowledge of Cho’s legally married wife.
Soon after consummating the “marriage” on weekend visits to Malacca, Lo claimed she was a member of an underworld triad gang with a leader from Hong Kong and that she needed to pay a fee of RM27,000 to leave the group.
Cho paid the money.
Then Lo wanted to buy a new house and Cho withdrew RM40,000 from his Employee Provident Fund (EPF) as down payment.
In April this year, Lo claimed that she had a heart condition and needed five injections that cost RM15,000 and another RM20,000 for a surgery to save her life.
Cho surrendered his insurance and withdrew money from his fixed deposit to give the amount to Lo. He also gave her another RM10,000 for her loan shark debts and daily expenses from July to September this year.
In March this year, Cho’s wife found out about the affair and filed for divorce.
Wanting to make amends, Cho gave his house and half of his EPF savings amounting to about RM55,000 to her as a divorce settlement.
Cho said Lo was angry with what he did and demanded that he take back the money and give it to her instead. When he refused, he claimed that Lo threatened him with a knife in her hand and voiced her intention to commit suicide.
Lo then threatened to go to his house to kill his ex-wife and children. Of his children, the youngest son is staying with Cho.
Cho also received a call from Lo’s husband who claimed that Lo intended to join the triad gang again, and he also received a threatening message from her god-brother.
Lo continued to harass him and he began to fear for his safety as well as that of his family, so he lodged a report on Sept 21 at the Pandan Indah police station.
Speaking at a press conference with MCA public services and complaints bureau chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong at Menara MCA on Sept 26, Cho said he just wanted the nightmare to be over.
“I don’t care about the RM112,000 that I lost. I just want her to leave me and my family alone,” Cho said.
He also revealed that he is a Buddhist and firmly believes in karma, that whatever was done in the previous life will affect one’s current life.