Fwd: [bmalaysia] NST: 'Police not doing anything about fake Cathay Pacific interviews'
Chin-Huat Wong
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Y.W.Loke <ywl...@tm.net.my>
Date: 30-Oct-2006 22:46
Subject: [bmalaysia] NST: 'Police not doing anything about fake Cathay Pacific interviews'
To: Berita Malaysia <beritam...@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "bmalaysia [GGrps]" <bmal...@googlegroups.com >, BMalaysia list <bmal...@yahoogroups.com>
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Monday/National/
20061030093705/Article/index_html
'Police not doing anything about fake interviews'
30 Oct 2006
PETALING JAYA: An aviation consultant claimed yesterday that police were
dragging their feet in investigations against a company that had allegedly
"interviewed" flight attendants on behalf of Cathay Pacific.
Inter-Excel Advisory director Hilary Miranda said he and several others
lodged separate police reports on Oct 12, 14 and 18 but claimed that no
action had been taken.
"I tried to prevent a crime by raising the alarm but police did not bother
to do anything. Even on the day of the interview, I called the authorities
numerous times but nothing was done," he said.
He claimed the police, the newspaper that ran the advertisement and the
hotel where the interviews were held should be held accountable.
"These are innocent girls who just wanted a steady job and applied when they
saw the advertisement. Some paid up front and were cheated."
Miranda alleged that the interviewers were former senior airline employees
who should have definitely known that something was amiss.
"No airline appoints an agency to conduct interviews on its behalf. And most
certainly do not ask successful candidates to pay," he told the New Straits
Times.
He claimed checks revealed that the company was actually a business selling
and renting entertainment equipment.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong
agreed with Miranda, saying he had been told by police not to hold a Press
conference as it could jeopardise investigations.
"But I decided to go ahead with it once I found out that some candidates
were paying for jobs."
He claimed the police only began investigations when the media took up the
issue.
It is learnt that Chong spoke to Cathay Pacific Airways country manager
Angela Liew about the possibility of the airline recruiting some of the
applicants.
About 800 applicants answered an advertisement in a local daily for flight
attendants and stewardesses, which offered a salary of about RM11,000
(US$3,000).
They went to a hotel here on Oct 14 and 15 for the first interview. The
second interview was held on Oct 18 at the same venue with about 100
applicants short-listed.
That was when applicants were asked to pay RM500 registration fees by Nov 3
and a further RM5,000 as a bond when training allegedly started on Nov 13.
Selangor police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Ismail Omar confirmed that
two men had been arrested last Friday but declined to elaborate.
Investigations are under way to determine if more are involved.
____
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Monday/Frontpage/
20061030093604/Article/index_html
Why no checks?
-by MASAMI MUSTAZA - Monday, October 30 2006
WHY weren't there any checks done by authorities on the company which
organised the bogus Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendant job interviews
last month?
This was the question posed by Hilary Miranda and Chong Siew Fong, directors
with Inter-Excel Advisory, the only agency in Malaysia licensed to organise
job in- terviews for foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and
Etihad Airways.
When the advertisement inviting applic- ants to attend a walk-in-interview
for flight attendants was published in a local English newspaper (not The
Malay Mail) on Oct 7, Miranda said he knew straight away that it was a scam.
"There were plenty of tell-tale signs. Being in the aviation industry, I
knew that Hong Kong-based airlines have stopped re- cruiting Malaysians as
flight attendants for some time already.
"Also, the ad invited applicants between 18 and 35 years old while the norm
for most international airlines is between 20 and 30.
"These and other clues led us to believe that something fishy was going on,"
he said.
Miranda and Chong then called Cathay Pacific Airways, Oasis Hong Kong
Airlines and even the Hong Kong International Air- port to check whether any
of them were recruiting Malaysian flight attendants.
"None said they were."
After some investigative work, the two managed to get the company's name and
ran a check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
"The company was listed as specialising in renting out outdoor entertainment
equipment.We were shocked," said Miranda.
Chong lodged a report at the Dang Wangi police station on Oct 12, two days
before the 'interview ' was to take place, in hopes of alerting the cops of
a possible scam taking place.
However, Chong claimed he was told that police were unable to take action as
no crime had been committed yet.
"We put in a lot of effort to make it easier for the authorities to go after
the people behind it, but it went ahead anyway.
"We were trying to help, but our assistance went unnoticed," he said.
Miranda said he was disappointed with the newspaper which published the
advertisement .
"The ad was published without pertinent information such as the name of the
company, or a contact number.
Also, the interview took place in a hotel lobby.
How could the hotel allow a company which they had no information on to rent
out their premises? "If these organisations had taken the time to do a bit
of research, this mess could have been avoided," he said.
____
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Monday/Hotnews/
20061030094130/Article/index_html
Capt Kumar questioned, more to go
Monday, October 30 2006
POLICE confirmed that one of the two suspects detained on Thursday in
connection with the bogus Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendant job
interview is 'Capt Kumar'.
Petaling Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Hazam Ab- dul Halim
said the suspects were detained at their office in Kelana Jaya .
He said the suspects have been remanded until Wednesday.
"We are are tracking down several others in connection with the case," said
Mohd Hazam.
On claims that police did not react to the reports lodged earlier by several
parties who were suspicious of the company's claims, Mohd Hazam said that
they needed certain information and documents before acting.
"There have been commercial crime cases where the culprit was not detained
until charged in court," he said.
It is learnt that police are liaising with their Singapore counterparts to
verify several claims made by the suspects, one of which was that they had
obtained permission to carry out the recruitment from a Singapore agent.
Police would also be checking Capt Kumar's identity to determine if he is an
airline captain as claimed.
____
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Monday/Hotnews/
20061030093945/Article/index_html
Will smelled a rat ...
Monday, October 30 2006
WHEN he was ushered in for an interview even though he forgot to bring his
re- sume, Will (not his real name), 20, suspected something wasn't right.
The Petaling Jaya resident was among the 800-odd flight attendant wannabes
who came for the bogus interview last month.
"The two interviewers took the rest of my photocopied documents and said I
could join the interview. I was made to fill in an application form which
did not have a company letterhead.
"When I asked the interviewers which airline I was applying for, they said I
would only find out if I made it to the second stage, " he told The Malay
Mail.
Will said his fate was not as bad as another hopeful.
"The guy told me he was a hotel receptionist and had quit his job to attend
this interview. I don't know what happened to him," he said.
Another applicant, Malvinder Kaur from Seremban, was picked for the second
round of interviews.
A former flight attendant with another airline, Malvinder found it odd that
she was asked to pay RM5,500 for registration and training fees.
"When they told me they were repres- enting Cathay Pacific, I asked that
they show a letter of appointment from the airline, as I knew that Cathay
Pacific has not recruited here for a long time. They did not do so, and
asked me to make payment at their office in Kelana Jaya the following
day, " she said.
Instead, Malvinder returned to Seremban and lodged a police report.
"I told the cops that they should visit the company the next day between 9am
and noon as that was when the applicants would be making payment.
"The police reassured me that they would forward my report to their Petaling
Jaya counterparts. Until today, I've yet to hear from them. "
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--
Chin-Huat Wong
Department of Government
University of Essex
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom