Malaysian YouTuber and influencer Yang Bao Bei (杨宝贝) has been the hot topic of the week. Shortly after attempting to commit suicide, netizens revealed she had been scamming people by selling branded bags and a YouTube channel.
The situation is complex as her fans want to preserve her mental health while her victims are hoping for refunds from her family. It has only been made more complicated by some scammers who are stealing the victims’ identities to claim their refund.
After her suicide attempt on 17th April, YBB was detained by the police. The police invoked Criminal Code 309 (suicide attempt) to detain her for two days. However, Serdang district police deputy chief Supt Mohd Rosdi Daud stated she has been temporarily released on bail due to her mental state. She has also been sent to a hospital in Klang Valley for treatment.
While YBB is recovering from her suicide attempt, many are concerned about the alleged frauds done by YBB before her attempt. That, of course, includes her brokerage company. YBB’s brokerage company has clarified that they are not involved in the situation. In a statement released on their Instagram Story, they stated that the bags sold by YBB have nothing to do with the company. “Everything still needs to be clarified by YBB,” they said. “All YBB’s endorsement work will be temporarily suspended.”
Aside from her brokerage company, several of her victims have come forward to explain how they were defrauded. However, fans have started lashing out at the victims, claiming they were cyberbullying YBB. One victim who lost RM30,000 from purchasing a YouTube channel stated she was told to kill herself. She denied bullying YBB and stated she only wanted to “tell the truth”.
The victim is also worried that as she is currently in a foreign country, she will not be able to report the crime. Another fan has spoken out against the netizens’ actions. “I hope those fans will not continue to attack the victims who accused YBB of defrauding money,” he said. “Give YBB and her family time to deal with it. It is meaningless to attack each other personally!”
While fans and her victims were fighting each other, others were trying to take advantage of the situation. A few days after the accusations emerged, YBB’s family members offered refunds to those affected, as long as proof is provided. However, the same victim who reported the backlash from fans discovered scammers impersonating YBB’s relatives.
According to the victim, these scammers would pretend to be YBB’s relatives and ask for details and proof that the victim was defrauded by YBB. Apparently they planned to use the details to ‘steal’ the victim’s identity and claim the refund for themselves. The victim only discovered these frauds after asking YBB’s ex-boyfriend, Kenny Tong, if he knew the ‘relatives’. She warned other victims to be careful.
We hope YBB recovers soon to clarify the situation. In the meantime, perhaps we should only let those involved handle the matter. After all, it’s already getting complicated with the addition of greedy folks who are trying to take advantage of the mess.
