In panic and for fear of being arrested for alleged involvement in money laundering, a civil servant lost almost half a million ringgit of her savings to a Macau scam syndicate.

Arau Police chief Ahmad Mohsin Md Rodi said the 50-year-old victim made 10 payments totalling RM429,000 to the syndicate after being duped that she would be arrested and charged in court for money laundering.

“She claimed to have received...