Police Arrest Man Who Uses QR Code to Steal Mosque Donations
Jakarta. The Jakarta Police have arrested a man who allegedly applied stickers of quick response codes on donation boxes at a Jakarta mosque and was caught in a video that has gone viral.
The suspect was identified as Mohammad Iman Mahlil, 38, who used to work in a state-owned company, a senior investigator told a news conference at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.
He was presented at the conference, bearing striking resemblance to the man appearing in the video.
According to police, Iman didn’t deny the charges that he had applied QR code stickers directing the digital retail payment reader to his own accounts, overriding the previous stickers of the charity organization that distributes the donation boxes.
“So far we have uncovered three accounts belonging [to the suspect],” said Chief Comr. Auliansyah Lubis, the director of the special crimes division at the Jakarta Police.
The suspect has been placing QR code stickers at 38 public facilities such as mosques, fuel stations, and malls since April 1, the officer said. Preliminary investigation indicated that he has collected at least Rp 13 million ($872) by redirecting the financial donations to his accounts in the past 10 days.
Police are still investigating if the suspect is part of a criminal organization or whether he received support from other people in the making of QR codes and digital payment accounts, Auliansyah said.
Iman was recorded by a security camera at Nurul Iman Mosque in South Jakarta’s business area Blok M Square while applying QR code stickers with the writing “Mosque Restoration” on donation boxes on April 6.
He also placed his stickers on the walls inside the mosque.
Three days later, a caretaker of the mosque reported the case to the police as news broadcasters began to air the video, leading to Iman’s arrest.
He is charged with spreading misleading information that causes damages in electronic transactions and falsifying electronic data under the Electronic Information and Transaction Law which carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years.
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