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A REAL estate agent’s ambition to diversify into fruit farming turned into a costly ordeal after he allegedly lost RM210,800 in an investment scheme involving a passion fruit plantation that he later discovered may not exist.
The man, who asked to be identified only as Eng, 44, said he not only exhausted his savings but also handed over his car as part of the investment capital.
Eng said he was introduced to the scheme after befriending a man on Facebook around January 2025. The individual later invited him to invest in a fruit plantation project.
He said he initially agreed and was taken to visit a plantation site in the Rembau district of Negeri Sembilan in February last year.
“At that time, I saw that the project appeared to be ongoing, and the man promised that the passion fruit would be ready for sale after six months, with the profits to be shared,” he said at a press conference held at the office of the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation in Kuala Lumpur today.
“He asked me to invest RM600,000, but due to a lack of capital, I agreed to invest only 30 per cent, amounting to RM180,000,” Eng said.
According to him, he subsequently withdrew his savings, took out a bank loan and made payments to the individual on seven occasions. He also handed over his car, valued at RM63,000, as part of the investment capital.
“After the payments were made, he became difficult to contact, and whenever I asked about the investment agreement documents, he gave various excuses,” he said.
“After realising that I had been deceived, I lodged a police report for further action,” Eng added.
Meanwhile, Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said his organisation received the complaint from the victim around September 2025, after Eng began to suspect he had fallen victim to a fruit investment scheme that was potentially fictitious and organised by an individual.
“We want to know whether this fruit plantation business truly exists or not, and where the victim’s investment funds actually went,” he said.
“The police have opened an investigation paper under Section 420 of the Penal Code, and we hope the investigation can be completed as soon as possible,” Hishamuddin added. - January 2, 2026