KUALA LUMPUR – Model Siew Pui Yi, better known as Ms Puiyi, has filed a suit against her 29-year-old former business partner, alleging that he cheated her out of around RM4.3 million.
In a statement today, the 26-year-old model said the man known as “Mentos”, a 29-year-old director of her company, was asked to settle the firm’s tax arrears with the Inland Revenue Board last year.
“He deceived me by promising to resolve my income tax issue with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia.
“I trusted him and handed over the specified amount of money to him. Later, I discovered that he failed to resolve my income tax issue. As a result of Lai Kai Jian’s (Mentos) actions, I have incurred significant losses,” she said.
Ms Puiyi, also a disc jockey, revealed that she found out about Mentos’ embezzlement from her business, PY Empire Sdn Bhd, in June 2022.
“I was introduced to him by a mutual friend in 2019, and he came across as a person of high integrity.
“He managed my company’s human resources matters and invested (my) company funds,” she said.
Ms Puiyi said that she filed a police report over the matter on October 24 last year at the Timur Laut district police headquarters in Penang.
“The police have been investigating this case, and I have been providing my full cooperation to the authorities,” she said. – April 22, 2024