Malaysia: 39 arrested over suspected online gambling call centre

Police in Sabah raided an operation at a shopping complex.

Malaysia.- Police in Sabah, Malaysia, have arrested 39 people. including Malaysians and foreign nationals, over an alleged online gambling call centre. The raid took place on the seventh floor of a shopping complex on Jalan Pintas in Penampang. Three rooms are suspected of being used as a call centre.

The Sabah police commissioner, Datuk Jauteh Dikun, said 20 women and 19 men were arrested. Police seized 74 computer monitors, 38 central processing units and 22 mobile phones. According to The Straits Times, the syndicate had been operating for more than six months.

Police say workers were receiving monthly salaries of RM1,500, paid through bank accounts after responding to a job advertisement on Facebook offering customer service positions. The case is now under investigation and falls under the jurisdiction of Section 4(1)(g) of the Open House Gambling Act 1953. 

A week ago, police in Kuala Lumpur arrested 13 foreign nationals, including five women, at two apartment units in Jalan Kuchai Lama for alleged involvement in managing and promoting gambling. 

See also: Meta to work with Malaysia to tackle online scams, including gambling