The crimes committed by illegal agents are still on the rise, as there are still new cases recorded within the last two weeks.
The most recent case was recorded on the 5th June, where the suspect, Muhammad Asid Abd Jalil, posed as a property agent and swindled a total of RM382,117. The suspect who was not registered as a Registered Real Estate Agent (REA) nor a Certified Real Estate Negotiator (REN) was said to cheat at least 30 people and is now sentenced to 16 years in jail, as well as 30 strokes of the cane.
According to Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (BOVAEA), there are many cases which involve a small amount that goes unreported. Therefore, many awareness campaigns and seminars are conducted by BOVAEA to educate the public of such brokers.
Such incidents can be avoided if buyers and sellers ask simple questions to the property agents they are dealing with and check their registration card.
Registered REAs can be identified with their authority card. Meanwhile, RENs can be identified with their red identity tags embedded with a QR code. Customers can get the agent’s full details once they scan the QR code with their smartphone.
As an alternative, the public can also cross-check the REN tag number on websites such as www.propertyagent.gov.my or www.lppeh.gov.my.
With this, the public is urged to lodge police reports and keep the board informed of such cases.
Image: Sourced from Berita Harian Online
Mangalesri Chandrasekaran, Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email mangales@propertyguru.com.my
