Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
You’ve probably seen a Bearbrick or two displayed in a locked up cabinet at your wealthy cousin’s house. The vinyl figurine has been one of the most highly desired collectibles since its release about 21 years ago boasting collaborations with notable brands and artists such as Chanel, Hermès, and Takashi Murakami.
On the 29th of August 2021, Cassandra ordered 12 Bearbrick figurines with a value of about RM33,600. They were pre order at the time and she was told that she would need to wait till October to receive her goods.
A reputable online shop
Many might think that it’s outrageous to transfer that amount of money to someone, one should do their due diligence before making purchases of that value online. The difference here is that this shop had a positive previous track record, there was no reason for Cassandra or any of the other people who fell victim to Bryan Tan to doubt the legitimacy of the shop.
Cassandra found the seller through a gaming facebook group. Pharmacy graduate Bryan Tan Pei Er, better known as Shin Chan GilaGaming666, was famous in the gaming vendor industry with a legitimate SSM cert as well as a star studded clientele, one of them being Malaysian badminton star Lee Zi Jia.
“I went on to order several other Bearbricks within the next two weeks, making payments that total up to another RM54,400 to two different bank accounts, one belonging to Bryan himself, and another to his mother Lee Chooi Hoon’s account. The seller was well known so I didn’t think there would be an issue.” Cassandra tells In Real Life.
The seller disappears, deleting social media accounts and dodging texts
Come October, Cassandra had not received any news of her orders arriving or even being in transit. The seller started off by giving excuses and eventually ended up ghosting her completely, not responding to any of her messages.
On the 8th of November, the facebook account Bryan used under his mother’s name to correspond with his customers had disappeared.
This left Cassandra with no other choice but to make a police report.
Cassandra also took matters into her own hands and posted about her experience on social media. Upon doing so, she received many responses from people who had been similarly conned by Bryan.
“He started scamming people a long time ago. After he was done scamming in SP(Sungai Petani), he escaped to KL and no one could find him.”
Aside from Bearbricks, Bryan had allegedly scammed people into “buying” PlayStation5 consoles and watches as well. The total number of victims is speculated to be about 150 people having made payments accumulating up to over RM1 million.
GilaGaming666 posted a statement on Instagram saying that it was all a misunderstanding and the failure to deliver the goods was because of stocking issues from their supplier. They said they would do their best to recover the funds from their supplier and refund everyone, but that never happened.
Suspected to be in cahoots with authorities
“The first batch of victims who made police reports had gotten to meet Bryan at a police station in Penang but said that it seemed as if the police were “on Bryan’s side”. They said the police were very fierce and impolite towards them.
“They held a meeting with Bryan Tan and his parents in the police station’s meeting room. It was basically Bryan Tan making a promise saying that he will refund all of our money within 15 days. How can the meeting be held in the station but with no outcome after that? It’s obvious that the police were just trying to calm the victims by asking Bryan to give empty promises so that we as the victims can stop making a scene.
“There was even an officer who drove Bryan’s dad out for dinner after everything and told us to stay away from them.”
The victims suspect that his whole family was in on the scam as the victims were instructed to make payments not only to Bryan’s account, but his mother, father, sister, and even his girlfriend’s.
Before lodging a police report themselves, Cassandra and two other victims hovered around Bryan’s house in an attempt to confront him in person. They saw his parents’ car and approached them at a nearby kopitiam.
“We relayed the situation to his parents, and after some negotiating they eventually let me and the two other victims follow them back to their home to check if there was any stock or trace of the Bearbricks in the house.” However, they were met with nothing but disappointment – there were no Bearbricks to be found.
The victim has yet to be reimbursed, and it doesn’t look like she ever will be
On the 21st of January 2022, was charged in two Magistrate’s Courts on seven counts of cheating and deception. Bryan pleaded not guilty to the charges which were read out before Magistrates Fardiana Haryanti Ahmad Razali and Wong Chai Sia and was allowed bail totalling RM16,500 and was fixed for mention earlier this year in March.
Cassandra however says that it doesn’t seem like much has been done as she has not been reimbursed for any of the amount she has lost and Bryan remains a free man.
Know anyone with an interesting story to share? Drop us an email at hello@inreallife.my and we may feature the story!
For more stories like this, read:
“Do You Know Any Bank Officers? It Could Be An Inside Job!” – How I Was Scammed Out Of RM200k
Beware: I Was Scammed Out Of RM 1,100 When Someone Pretended To Be My Boss
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