KUCHING, Oct. 19 -- A 32-year-old local businessman and four of his family members lost a total of RM750,000 to a pyramid scheme scam.

Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief Milton Foo said the whole ordeal began in August 2019 when the victim was introduced by a close family acquaintance to a multi-level marketing (MLM) investment scheme in China.

He, his brother and sister-in-law then travelled to Fangchenggang in Guangxi, China to learn more about the scheme, which involved investing in property and tourism - requiring an investment of 233, 831 Chinese renminbi (about RM150,000) per person.

"The promised return was a staggering 39 million renminbi (about RM23.1 million) for each of them - that's more tha...